title: Introductory Note
abstract: Abstract The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) provided administrative services in 211 proceedings in 2020, divided by 7 inter-state arbitrations, 126 investor-state arbitrations, 74 contract-based arbitrations, and 4 other proceedings of a different nature. These proceedings involved a diverse variety of actors, including sovereign states, intergovernmental organizations, and public or private entities. Of these proceedings, 59 were initiated in 2020. As for appointing authority services, in