International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
ICSID logo
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| Formation | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Type | Dispute resolution organization |
| Legal status | Treaty |
| Purpose | International arbitration |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
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Membership
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161 countries(signatory and contracting states) 153 countries(contracting states only) |
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Secretary-General
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Meg Kinnear |
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Parent organization
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World Bank Group |
| Website | icsid.worldbank.org |
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is an international arbitration institution established in 1965 for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors. The ICSID is part of and funded by the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is an autonomous, multilateral specialized institution to encourage international flow of investment and mitigate non-commercial risks by a treaty drafted by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's executive directors and signed by member countries. As of May 2016[update], there were 153 contracting member states agree to enforce and uphold arbitral awards in accordance with the ICSID Convention. The center performs advisory activities and maintains several publications.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (now the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) had made several attempts to create a framework for protecting international investments, but its efforts revealed conflicting views on how to provide compensation for the expropriation of foreign direct investment. In 1961, then-General Counsel of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Aron Broches developed the idea for a multilateral agreement on a process for resolving individual investment disputes on a case by case basis as opposed to imposing outcomes based on standards. Broches held conferences to consult legal experts from all parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia, to discuss and compose a preliminary agreement. The IBRD staff wrote an official draft of the agreement and consulted with legal representatives of the IBRD's board of directors to finalize the draft and have it approved. The board of directors approved the final draft of the agreement, titled Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, and the Bank president disseminated the convention to its member states for signature on 18 March 1965. Twenty states immediately ratified the convention. The convention establishing the ICSID entered into force on 14 October 1966.
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