Activities

The ICSID does not conduct arbitration or conciliation proceedings itself, but offers institutional and procedural support to conciliation commissions, tribunals, and other committees which conduct such matters. The center has two sets of rules that determine how cases will be initiated and conducted, either under the ICSID's Convention, Regulations and Rules or the ICSID's Additional Facility Rules. To be processed in accordance with the ICSID Convention, a legal dispute has to exist between one of the center's contracting member states and a national of another contracting member state. It must also be of a legal nature and relate directly to an investment. A case can be processed under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules if one of the parties to the dispute is either not a contracting member state or a national of a contracting member state. However, most cases are arbitrated under the ICSID Convention. Recourse to ICSID conciliation and arbitration is entirely voluntary. However, once the parties have consented to arbitration under the ICSID Convention, neither party can unilaterally withdraw its consent.

The ICSID Secretariat may also administer dispute resolution proceedings under other treaties and regularly assists tribunals or disputing parties in arbitrations among investors and states under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)'s arbitration regulations. The center provides administrative and technical support for a number of international dispute resolution proceedings through alternative facilities such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, the London Court of International Arbitration, and the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France.

The ICSID also conducts advisory activities and research and publishes Investment Laws of the World and of Investment Treaties. Since April 1986, the center has published a semi-annual law journal entitled ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal.

Although the ICSID's proceedings generally take place in Washington, D.C., parties may agree that proceedings be held at one of a number of possible alternative locations, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Regional Arbitration Centres of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee in Cairo, in Kuala Lumpur, or in Lagos, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration in Melbourne, the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre in Sydney, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Gulf Cooperation Council Commercial Arbitration Centre in Bahrain, the German Institution of Arbitration, the Maxwell Chambers in Singapore, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, and the Centre for Arbitration and Conciliation at the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota.

Criticismedit

The ICSID has sometimes been the target of withering criticism about grossly inequitable judgements. Notably, Jeffrey Sachs suggested that the US$5.9 billion judgement against Pakistan in relation to rights presumed by Tethyan Copper Company amounted to a "flawed and corrupt investment arbitration process". The Pakistan Supreme Court had voided a transaction entered into by Balochistan Development Authority finding in favour of Antofagasta PLC of Chile and Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada. Nevertheless, others have suggested this amount is a fair reflection of the fact that a potentially extraordinary asset (Reko Diq Mine) had effectively been seized seemingly without good reason.