A. Introduction

On March 18, 1965, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) was established under the auspices of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (also called the Washington Convention). The Centre is one of the five international organizations that make up the World Bank Group. The Convention entered into force on October 14, 1966.

The Centre was established to provide facilities for the conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes and to promote the flow of foreign investment between developed and developing countries, bearing in mind the need for international cooperation for economic development. It was often unforeseeable if the enforcement of an award that was rendered locally in favour of the investor would be carried out. Since a neutral forum for foreign investors was previously non-existent, the establishment of the centre has to be viewed as an effort to provide such a forum for the settlement of disputes arising out of investments. So far it represents a unique model in international law, since the Centre operates in total independence from domestic legal systems . The domestic courts sole role is the assistance in the enforcement of the awards rendered by the arbitral tribunal. There is no right to appeal or review the award by any domestic court. The signatories agreed to recognize that an award rendered by an ICSID tribunal as if it was a final judgment of their own court.

The centre itself is not engaged in conciliation and arbitration but assists in the initiation of conciliation and arbitration proceedings, performing a variety of procedural and administrative functions.

To read the full paper, please click the link below.

ICSID term paper - (PDF-File, 300 KB, 17 pages).