Constitution of the Tribunal - UNCITRAL Arbitration

The Tribunal is constituted when all arbitrators have accepted their appointments.

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 the time it takes 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 the Secretary-General to appoint an arbitrator, that appointment is generally completed on average within four weeks from the request.

Effects of the Tribunal’s Constitution

Once a Tribunal is constituted in an UNCITRAL arbitration administered by ICSID:

  • A member of the ICSID Secretariat (legal counsel) will be designated to serve as Secretary of the Tribunal.
  • ICSID will ensure that the members of the Tribunal have copies of the notice of arbitration and all correspondence between the parties. 
  • The arbitral tribunal shall establish, as soon as practicable and upon consultation with the parties, a provisional timetable for the arbitration and the language of the proceedings.
  • The Tribunal will ask the parties to deposit an equal amount as an advance for the costs of the proceeding, including ICSID’s expenses and administrative charges.  ICSID’s annual administrative charge (US$21,000 per party under the current Schedule of Fees is generally divided equally between the parties and deducted from the parties’ advances, on the anniversary of the date of ICSID’s involvement in the case.