Investor Presentaiton
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INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: A SEQUEL
2013).57 Arbitration under the ICSID Convention is available when
both the host State and the home State of the investor are party to
the Convention.58
ICSID is not a judicial body in the sense that it does not have
tenured "judges" who adjudicate claims. Arbitration is ad hoc
that is, arbitrators are appointed by the disputing parties (or with
participation of the ICSID Secretary-General) for the resolution of
each specific dispute.
ICSID's unique feature is that arbitration under the Convention
is "de-localized", meaning that while the ICSID Secretariat is
physically located in Washington D.C., arbitrations are not subject
to the laws of the United States. (If hearings take place in a different
State, which is possible, the arbitration will not be subject to the
laws of that State.) Arbitral awards rendered under the ICSID
Convention may not be reviewed or set aside by domestic courts of
the seat of arbitration; they are subject only to special annulment
procedure under the ICSID Convention itself. The Convention also
provides for "automatic" enforcement of arbitral awards in all States
that are parties to the Convention."
59
Adherence to the ICSID Convention does not in itself qualify as
consent to arbitration under the Convention; that consent must be
found elsewhere, whether in a concession contract, in national
legislation, or in an investment treaty. The majority of ISCID cases
have been filed on the basis of ISDS provisions in IIAS.
The ICSID Secretariat offers institutional support for
arbitrations. In particular, it assigns a legal secretary to each case,
57 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States
and Nationals of Other States, 18 March 1965, 575 U.N.T.S. 159.
58 Ibid., Article 25(1).
59
For an overview of various features of arbitration under the ICSID
Convention, see also section II.D.2 below.
UNCTAD Series on International Investment Agreements IIView entire presentation