Screening of a Request and Registration - ICSID Convention Conciliation (2006 Rules)

As soon as a party has filed a request for conciliation with the prescribed lodging fee, ICSID sends the request to the other party and reviews the request to determine whether it can be registered. This screening process is mandated by Article 28(3) of the ICSID Convention.

The Screening Process

The Secretary-General of ICSID must determine whether the dispute is manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Centre as soon as possible after the filing of the request for conciliation. This determination is made on the basis of the information contained in the request.

If one of the requirements in Article 25 of the ICSID Convention is manifestly lacking, the Secretary-General must refuse to register the request. Otherwise the dispute must be registered and the Commission can address objections. The decision to register the request is without prejudice to the powers of the Commission with regard to jurisdiction, competence and the merits (Institution Rule 7).

Registration

The notice of registration is sent to the parties and basic case details are posted on ICSID’s website. All significant steps in the proceeding are subsequently made publicly available under the tab “Procedural Details” of that case.

The parties are invited to inform ICSID of any agreement as to the number of conciliators and the method of their appointment and to constitute a Commission as soon as possible.  The date of registration triggers time limits concerning the method to constitute the Commission (60 days) and to appoint the members of a Commission (90 days).

The Institution Rules apply to steps taken until the registration of the request.