Yale Journal of International Law's 2012 ICSID Conference

Teresa Miguel-Stearns

On February 11, 2012, the Yale Journal of International Law hosted the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Conference. To commemorate the event, the Foreign & International Law Department has put together a display on L2 featuring books by conference panelists and pieces on international arbitration. 

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The ICSID Conference, cosponsored by the Yale Journal of International Law and the American Society of International Law and made possible by The Goldman Fund for International Initiatives, will bring together leading academics and practitioners who have played central roles in the drama of Article 52 to appraise recent cases and to consider whether any adjustments to the review procedure ought to be introduced. – Courtesy of the YJIL ICSID Conference website

The ICSID Conference is also sponsored by Transnational Dispute Management, a comprehensive and innovative information service on the management of international disputes, with a focus on the rapidly evolving area of investment arbitration, as well WorldTradeLaw.net Yale subscribes to the sponsors’ databases, which can be accessed while on the Yale network on our Legal Databases page. Other investment law resources can be found on our International Investment Law Guide.

ABOUT THE ISSUES 

For over 40 years, the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes(ICSID) has offered investors and states a unique arbitration mechanism, which trades off diplomatic protection on behalf of investors in return for commitments by host states to arbitrate investment disputes at the initiative of the investor. – Courtesy of the YJIL ICSID Conference website

In recent years, the ICSID framework has come under criticism from a number of angles, perhaps the most acute being controversy over its distinctive review and annulment procedure. Originally intended to be an “extraordinary remedy,” the Article 52 procedure has almost become a staple of the arbitral process. Moreover, the precise function of the procedure and its scope appears to be conceived very differently in many of the decisions of ad hoc Committees. – Courtesy of the YJIL ICSID Conference website

According to Yale Law School Professor W. Michael Reisman, ICSID’s Article 52 was not uncommon or unlike other nullification procedures for arbitral awards. His 1990 article entitled “The Breakdown of the Control Mechanism in ICSID Arbitration,” featured in the Faculty Scholarship Series, cites that what is unique to ICSID’s approach is the Secretary-General’s appointment of the ad hoc three member committee that reviews the request for nullification, acting as yet another tribunal within the original ICSID tribunal. The panel entitled “The Grounds for Annulment: Are They Being Misapplied?” addresses this issue.

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