Frauke Nitschke, Team Leader and Legal Counsel on one of the Case Management Teams at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes has published “The ICSID Conciliation Rules in Practice,” Forthcoming, Mediation in International Commercial and Investment Disputes, edited by Catharine Titi and Katia Fach Gómes (Oxford University Press 2018).  In her book chapter, Ms. Nitschke describes and analyzes the conciliation process and procedure that is currently in place at the Centre.  For those who are unfamiliar with the process, conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism that allows parties to meet with a conciliator both separately and together in an effort to resolve their dispute.

The abstract states:

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is most known for its arbitration caseload; however, the ICSID Convention and the ICSID Additional Facility Rules also envision the settlement of investment disputes through conciliation proceedings.

This Chapter will provide an overview of the ICSID Conciliation process, from the filing of a request for conciliation, its registration, the constitution of the conciliation commission, the conciliation procedure, and also review the outcomes of ICSID conciliation proceedings to date.

The Chapter will further examine the application of the Conciliation Rules under the ICSID Convention and the ICSID Additional Facility Rules by the respective conciliation commissions, thereby providing an unprecedented review of ICSID conciliation practice. Considering the existing practice, the Chapter will then review the Conciliation Rules and discuss possible amendments to the ICSID conciliation framework. Where suitable, the Chapter will include quantitative analysis of the ICSID conciliation caseload.

The Chapter will further look at the future of the ICSID conciliation procedure, and review the Centre’s activities in the area of investor-State mediation.