Constitution of the Tribunal - Additional Facility Arbitration Rules (2022 Rules)

The Tribunal must be constituted as soon as possible after registration of the Request for arbitration. It is constituted on the date the Secretary-General notifies the parties that all arbitrators have accepted their appointments and signed their declarations (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 29).

The time for constituting the tribunal may vary depending on the time it takes the parties to determine the number of arbitrators and the method of their appointment and to select and appoint the members of the Tribunal. The parties may agree to take as much time as they require to constitute a Tribunal. However, if a party asks ICSID to appoint an arbitrator, ICSID endeavors to complete the appointment within 30 days of the request.

Effects of the Tribunal’s Constitution

Once a Tribunal is constituted:

  • A member of the ICSID Secretariat (legal counsel) is designated to serve as Secretary of the Tribunal
  • ICSID sends the request for arbitration and all correspondence between ICSID and the parties to the members of the Tribunal, including any request for provisional measures, security for costs, notice of third-party funding, or objection that the claim is manifestly without legal merit filed before the constitution of the Tribunal (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 29)
  • The first session of the Tribunal must be held within 60 days from the date of constitution, unless the parties agree otherwise (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 38). The Secretary of the Tribunal will contact the parties to enquire about their availability for the session
  • A party may raise preliminary objections under Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 51 no later than 45 days after the constitution, unless the parties have agreed otherwise 
  • The Secretary of the Tribunal will request the parties to make an advance payment to cover the costs of the proceeding (Additional Facility Administrative and Financial Regulation 7(1)(b)). The amount of this advance will vary depending on the number of arbitrators and the anticipated expenses in the subsequent phase of the proceeding. The parties may expect a request for an advance in the order of US$150,000-200,000 per party. The amount that was advanced by the claimant upon registration of the Request for arbitration will be considered as partial payment of its share of this advance (Additional Facility Administrative and Financial Regulation 7(1)(a))