How to File a Request - Additional Facility Arbitration (2022)

A party commences an arbitration under the Additional Facility by filing a Request for arbitration with the Secretary-General.

The conditions for access to the ICSID Additional Facility are contained in Article 2(1) of the Additional Facility Rules. There may be further conditions in the instrument containing the parties’ consent to arbitration.

The process of filing the Request is governed by Additional Facility Arbitration Rules 2 to 5 and ICSID Additional Facility Administrative and Financial Regulation 10.

Contents of the Request

Required information and supporting documents (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 3)

The Request must:

• be written in English, French or Spanish (the official languages of the Centre)
• include the name and contact details of all parties (including e-mail, street address and telephone number)
• be signed by the requesting party or its representative and be dated
• enclose proof of the representative’s authority to act (e.g., a power of attorney or a letter of engagement)
• if the requesting party is a juridical person, include a statement that it has taken all necessary internal actions to authorize the request. The statement must be supported by evidence (e.g., a resolution of the board of directors).

The Request must further include:

• a description of the investment and of its ownership and control, e.g., describe the corporate group structure of companies, if any, that own or control the investment
• a summary of the relevant facts and claims
• the request for relief, including an estimate of the amount of damages sought
• an indication that there is a legal dispute between the parties arising out of the investment
• a copy of the instrument recording each party’s consent to submit the dispute to arbitration under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules, the date of entry into force of that instrument and evidence of the date of entry into force
  • The date of consent is the date on which the parties to the dispute consented in writing to submit it to the Centre; if both parties did not act on the same day, it means the date on which the second party acted (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 3(2)(b)(iii))
  • If the consent is in a treaty or law, evidence of its entry into force could be an extract from a government website showing the date of entry into force or a copy from a State's collection of laws
  • If the consent is in a contract, the Request must enclose a copy of the signed contract and its effective date.
• an indication that the requesting party has complied with any condition for submission of the dispute in the instrument of consent (e.g., compliance with negotiation periods)
• if a party is a person, his/her nationality on the date of consent together with evidence of such nationality (e.g. a passport), and a statement that he/she was a national of a State other than the State party to the dispute or other than any constituent State of the REIO party to the dispute on the date of consent (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 3(2)(c)(ii))
• if a party is a company or other juridical person, its nationality on the date of consent together with evidence of such nationality (e.g., an extract from a commercial register)
  • If the nationality of a juridical person is the same as that of the State party to the dispute or of any constituent State of the REIO party to the dispute on the date of consent, the Request must enclose the agreement of the parties to treat the juridical person as a national of another State pursuant to Article 1(5)(b) of the ICSID Additional Facility Rules (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 3(2)(d)(ii)).
• if a party is a constituent subdivision of a State or an agency of a State or of an REIO, a statement that it has been designated to the Centre by that State or REIO (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 3(2)(e))
  • The Request must also enclose evidence of the consent of the subdivision or agency and approval of such consent by the State or the REIO, unless the State or the REIO has notified the Centre that no such approval is required.

Recommended Additional Information (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 4)

It is recommended that the Request also include:

• any agreement by the parties or proposal regarding:
  • the number of arbitrators and the method of their appointment
  • the seat of arbitration
  • the law applicable to the dispute
  • the language(s) to be used in the proceeding (English, French or Spanish)
  • the use of expedited arbitration under Chapter XIII of the Additional Facility Arbitration Rules
• the names of persons and entities that own or control the requesting party which is a juridical person.

Translation and Extracts of Supporting Documents (Additional Facility Arbitration Rule 5(4))

Supporting documents which are enclosed with the Request and which are not in English, French or Spanish must be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages. It is sufficient if only the relevant parts are translated. Extracts of documents can be filed as supporting documents if the extract is not misleading.

Electronic Filing

A complete Request with all supporting documents should be uploaded onto ICSID's document sharing platform ("Box") and sent to the ICSID Secretariat by email. No hard copies should be sent to ICSID. 

1. Upload onto Box

In advance of the transmittal of a Request by email please contact the ICSID Secretariat ICSIDsecretariat@worldbank.org to request the creation of a folder on Box and access instructions.

2. Transmittal by email

The Request, its supporting documentation and a copy of the lodging fee wire transfer order should be sent to ICSIDsecretariat@worldbank.org.

For submissions exceeding 25MB, please send the Request without supporting documents and indicate in your email (attaching the Request) that you have uploaded the supporting documents indicated in an attached list to Box. Alternatively, supporting documents exceeding 25 MB may be split into several individual emails (not exceeding 25 MB each).

Lodging Fee

A non-refundable fee of US$25,000 under the current Schedule of Fees, must be paid on or before lodging the Request. The fee is payable by the party filing the Request or by both parties if the Request is made jointly.

The fee should be paid by wire transfer. Wire transfer instructions may be obtained by contacting the ICSID Secretariat. A copy of the wire transfer order should be filed with the Request.

For further assistance, please contact the ICSID Secretariat at ICSIDsecretariat@worldbank.org.