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Global Intelligence — Annual Index

The Neutrality Index™.
How neutral-ready is the world?

The world's first annual ranking of countries, sectors, and institutional frameworks by their neutrality readiness — quality of ADR infrastructure, access to certified practitioners, enforceability of awards, and institutional adoption. Published by TheNeutrals.ORG™. Cited by governments, courts, and law firms worldwide.

What the Neutrality Index™ is

The Rule of Law Index measures justice. The Neutrality Index™ measures access to independent resolution.

The Rule of Law Index tells you how good a country's legal system is. The Ease of Doing Business tells you how efficient its commercial environment is. Neither tells you whether a party in a commercial dispute in that jurisdiction can access a genuinely independent neutral — quickly, affordably, and with internationally enforceable outcomes.

The Neutrality Index™ measures exactly that. Five dimensions. 80+ countries. Published annually by TheNeutrals.ORG™ — the institution with the global data, the certified practitioner network, and the methodological rigour to produce it independently.

When governments cite it in infrastructure investment policy. When law firms cite it in jurisdictional risk assessments. When corporations cite it in supply chain governance decisions. That is the weight of an index published by the institution that owns the concept.

About the methodology →
80+
Countries scored annually
Every country with a meaningful commercial dispute resolution landscape is scored across all five dimensions.
5
Scoring dimensions
ADR infrastructure, practitioner access, enforcement quality, institutional adoption, and practice diversity.
1
Publication per year
The Neutrality Index™ is published once a year — with full methodology, country notes, and trend analysis.
Independent authority
Produced by the institution that defines the neutral profession. No commercial agenda. No government funding. No rankings manipulation.
The 2026 Rankings — extract

Top 10 countries by Neutrality Index™ score. Full rankings: 80+ countries.

The following is an extract from the 2026 Neutrality Index™. Full rankings for all 80+ countries, including sector-level scores, trend data, and jurisdiction notes, are available in the full publication.

#CountryScore /100RatingKey drivers
01
Singapore
94.2
ExcellentWorld-class arbitration infrastructure, Singapore Convention home, SIMC, SIAC. Highest certified neutral density per capita in Asia
02
United Kingdom
91.8
ExcellentLCIA, leading mediation infrastructure, English law enforceability globally. Highest practitioner fees globally offset by density of certified practitioners.
03
Switzerland
89.4
ExcellentSwiss Rules, ICC access, WIPO for IP. Neutrality in the legal sense is embedded in the national character of commercial practice.
04
United Arab Emirates
86.1
StrongDIFC courts, DIAC, rapid growth in certified neutral density. Exceptional cross-border enforceability framework.
05
Netherlands
84.7
StrongNMI infrastructure, strong enforcement framework, growing certified neutral bench. Gateway to European commercial dispute resolution.
06
Germany
82.3
StrongDIS, strong arbitral tradition, growing mediation adoption. Regulatory framework developing. Certified neutral access very high.
07
Australia
80.9
StrongACDC infrastructure, common law enforceability, strong judicial support for ADR. Growing certified neutral bench across all sectors.
08
India
74.2
DevelopingFastest improving score 2025–2026 (+8.4 points). New Arbitration Act amendments, Delhi International Arbitration Centre, high practitioner growth.
09
Nigeria
68.7
DevelopingLagos Court of Arbitration, rapidly growing certified neutral base (+67% in 2025). Government ADR policy improving. Fee benchmarks rising.
10
Brazil
65.1
DevelopingCAM-CCBC, strong São Paulo arbitration market. Portuguese-language certified neutral base growing. Enforcement framework improving significantly.
The full 2026 Neutrality Index™ covers 80+ countries with sector-level breakdowns, two-year trend data, and jurisdiction notes for each country scored.
Access full rankings →
The methodology

Five dimensions. Published. Independent. Consistent year-on-year.

Every country is scored against the same five dimensions, on the same 100-point scale, using the same data sources. The methodology is published in full with each edition. Changes to methodology are flagged, and historical scores are restated for comparability.

Dimension 01
ADR Infrastructure Quality
The robustness of the jurisdiction's formal ADR infrastructure — arbitral institutions, mediation centres, court-connected ADR programmes, and statutory frameworks governing neutral practice.
Dimension 02
Practitioner Access and Density
The number of certified or independently qualified neutral practitioners available in the jurisdiction relative to commercial dispute volume — including language coverage and sector depth.
Dimension 03
Award Enforcement Quality
The quality and reliability of the legal framework for enforcing neutral evaluation reports, mediated settlement agreements, and arbitral awards — including New York Convention adoption and Singapore Convention status.
Dimension 04
Institutional Adoption Rate
The extent to which corporations, law firms, courts, and government bodies in the jurisdiction actively use and specify neutral ADR in their commercial contracts, procurement documentation, and judicial referral practices.
Dimension 05
Practice Diversity
The range of neutral practice types available — evaluation, mediation, arbitration, expert determination, neutral chairing, DRB — and the depth of specialist sector practice within the jurisdiction.
Data sources
The Neutrality Index™ draws on: TheNeutrals.ORG™ certified practitioner data (1,500+ practitioners in 80+ countries), UNCITRAL arbitration statistics, World Bank Doing Business indicators, Singapore Convention signatory data, New York Convention status records, national arbitration institution data, and primary research conducted with TheNeutrals.ORG™ certified practitioners in each jurisdiction.
Who relies on the Neutrality Index™

The institutions that use it. The decisions it informs.

Governments & regulators
Infrastructure investment decisions, ADR policy development, access to justice programmes, and national neutral practitioner development strategies.
Law firms & chambers
Jurisdictional risk assessment, client counsel on seat selection in cross-border disputes, arbitration clause drafting, and ADR cost-benefit analysis.
Multinational corporations
Supply chain governance, counterparty jurisdiction risk scoring, ADR clause specification, and commercial partner due diligence.
Insurers & risk underwriters
Commercial lines dispute risk modelling, jurisdiction-specific loss ratio analysis, and policy design for cross-border commercial exposures.
Courts & judicial systems
International benchmarking, best practice identification, and evidence base for judicial ADR policy reform and court-connected referral programmes.
Academic & research institutions
Primary data source for comparative ADR research, practitioner economics studies, and international dispute resolution policy analysis.
The Neutrality Index™ 2026

The world's first index of neutrality readiness. Published by the institution that defines it.

Full rankings for 80+ countries. Five dimensions. Published annually. Free to certified neutrals at TheNeutrals.ORG™. Institutional licensing available for law firms, courts, governments, and insurers.