What is the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)?
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Article summary
New Inside the Institutions looks at the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the main forum for Investor-to-State Dispute Settlements.
A new Bretton Woods Project Inside the Institutions piece looks at the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which is the main forum for Investor-to-State Dispute Settlements.
ICSID was established in 1966 by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between states and nationals of other states. Currently, ICSID includes 164 member states in contrast to the 193 member states of the UN.
The article details civil society concerns about ISDS, which allow states to be sued by foreign corporations alleging violations of international trade treaties – with such cases potentially undermining the human rights of communities affected by foreign investments, as well as frustrating climate action in cases where a phaseout of foreign-owned fossil-fuel infrastructure is required to meet national climate goals.