ICSID - Losing its Appeal?

Abstract

no international arbitration centre can lay claim to such distinguished origins as the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). There are some centres of arbitration, such as those established in London or Paris, which owe their existence primarily to merchants and traders, with a common interest in providing for the speedy and relatively informal resolution of disputes between them. There are other, more recent arbitration centres, such as those now established in Hong Kong or British Columbia, which owe their existence to the initiative of a particular national or state government, prepared to provide a convenient forum for the settlement of international disputes – and to benefit from the prestige and business which such a forum generates. ICSID, by contrast, owes its existence to an international treaty, sponsored by the World Bank and adopted by an impressive number of national governments: this treaty is the Washington Convention...