Chapter Seven. Arbitral tribunals of the international centre for settlement of investment disputes

Abstract

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention was designed to take care of some of the concerns generated by the existing state of affairs. The fear of political risks undoubtedly operates as deterrent to the flow of private foreign capital to developing countries. The jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals set up under the auspices of the ICSID, which is discussed in this chapter, is of a special nature. The Convention provides that arbitral tribunals shall be the judges of their own competence and this competence has never been questioned. There are no conditions of admissibility as such built into the structure of jurisdiction under the ICSID Convention. There are three principles which have been adverted to in the ICSID cases. They relate to the authority or jurisdiction to grant provisional measures, the effect of an order granting provisional measures, and the circumstances in which provisional measures are recommended.Keywords: admissibility; arbitral tribunals; ICSID; incidental jurisdiction; primary jurisdiction; provisional measures