Constitution of the Tribunal - ICSID Convention Arbitration (2022 Rules)

The Tribunal must be constituted as soon as possible after registration of a 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 (Arbitration Rule 21).

The time to constitute 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 that was filed before the constitution of the Tribunal (Arbitration Rule 21).
  • The first session of the Tribunal must be held within 60 days from the date of constitution, unless the parties agree otherwise (Arbitration Rule 29). The Secretary of the Tribunal will contact the parties to enquire about their availability for the session.
  • A party may raise preliminary objections under Arbitration Rule 41 no later than 45 days after the constitution, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
  • The Secretary of the Tribunal will ask the parties to make an advance payment to cover the costs of the proceeding (Administrative and Financial Regulation 15(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 (Administrative and Financial Regulation 15(1)(a)).