As a general rule, ICSID proceedings are held at the Centre's headquarters in Washington, D.C. However, parties may agree to hold their proceeding at any other place, subject to certain conditions. The ICSID Convention contains provisions that facilitate advance stipulations for such other venues when the place chosen is the seat of an institution with which the Centre has an arrangement for this purpose.

ICSID has to date concluded such arrangements with the following institutions:

• Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague;
• Regional Arbitration Centres of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee at Cairo, at Kuala Lumpur and at Lagos;
• Australian Commercial Disputes Centre at Sydney;
• Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration at Melbourne;
• Singapore International Arbitration Centre;
• Gulf Cooperation Council Commercial Arbitration Centre at Bahrain; and
• German Institution of Arbitration.