Parties wishing to institute a fact-finding proceeding pursuant to these Rules shall file a joint Request with the Secretary-General and pay the lodging fee published in the schedule of fees.
(1) The Request shall:
(a) be in English, French or Spanish, or in any other language with the approval of the Secretary-General;
(b) identify each party to the proceeding and provide its contact information, including electronic mail address, street address and telephone number;
(c) be signed by each requesting party or its representative and be dated;
(d) attach proof of any representative’s authority to act;
(e) be filed electronically, unless the Secretary-General authorizes the filing of the Request in an alternative format;
(f) if the requesting party is a juridical person, state that it has obtained all necessary internal authorizations to file the Request, and attach the authorizations;
(g) indicate that the proceeding involves a State or an REIO, describe the investment to which the proceeding relates, and indicate the facts to be examined and the relevant circumstances;
(h) attach the agreement of the parties to have recourse to fact-finding pursuant to these Rules; and
(i) contain any proposals or agreements reached by the parties concerning the constitution of a Fact-Finding Committee (“Committee”), the qualifications of its member(s), its mandate and the procedure to be followed during the fact-finding.
(2) Any supporting document in a language other than English, French, Spanish or a language approved by the Secretary-General pursuant to Rule 6(1)(a) shall be accompanied by a translation into one of those languages. Translation of only the relevant part of a document is sufficient, provided that the Secretary-General may require a fuller or complete translation of the document.
(1) The Secretary-General shall promptly acknowledge receipt of the Request.
(2) Upon receipt of the Request and the lodging fee, the Secretary-General shall register the Request if it appears, on the basis of the information provided, that the Request is within the scope of Rule 2(1).
(3) The Secretary-General shall notify the parties of the registration of the Request, or the refusal to register the Request and the grounds for refusal.
(4) The notice of registration of the Request shall:
(a) record that the Request is registered and indicate the date of registration;
(b) confirm that all correspondence to the parties in connection with the proceeding will be sent to the contact address appearing on the notice, unless different contact information is indicated to the Secretary-General; and
(c) invite the parties to constitute a Committee without delay.