The IBA's Investor-State Mediation Rules and the ICSID Dispute Settlement Framework

On 4 October 2012, the Council of the International Bar Association (IBA) adopted the IBA's Investor-State Mediation Rules (IBA Mediation Rules). As described elsewhere in this issue of the ICSID Review, these Rules were developed by the IBA's State Mediation Subcommittee, co-chaired by Anna Joubin-Bret and Barton Legum. Much expertise went into the drafting of these Rules. The challenge that remains is how and to what extent the IBA Investor-State Mediation Rules could fit into the existing investor-State dispute settlement regime. This article will explore some possible avenues to implement the IBA Mediation Rules within the existing ICSID framework. In doing so, the article will (1) first describe the ICSID dispute settlement system, and (2) review some empirical data on settlements and discontinuances in ICSID proceedings, before (3) exploring how the IBA Mediation Rules could be applied to facilitate mutually agreeable settlements of investment disputes, (4) exploring the role of the ICSID Secretariat in this regard, and (5) reaching some conclusions.