ARBITRATING WITH ICSID: WHAT EVERY INVESTOR SHOULD KNOW

Abstract

International Investment is a critical contributor to the economic growth, development, and stability of many countries in the world, thereby playing an integral role in nation building. Although international agreements relationships may take various forms, yet, like many other business or non-business interactions, disputes are bound to arise. The introduction of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is an asset to curtail the power imbalance in the resolution of disputes arising from international investments. This paper adopted the doctrinal research design to distill and discuss the salient legal provisions of ICSID Convention, while using data gathered through primary and secondary sources of data. The study discovered that ICSID plays a fundamental role in dispute resolution, essentially international investment disputes. In addition, the study found that certain provisions of the convention are geared towards ensuring substantive and procedural fairness between host States and foreign investors in dispute resolution.
The study concludes that the adoption of arbitration through ICSID is a proactive and robust approach to the resolution of international investment disputes between host States and foreign investors. The study recommends the need to clarify on the narrow jurisdictional scope of ICSID by elaborating on what constitutes investment, and who an investor is.