Acceptance of Appointment and Transmittal of the Request - ICSID Mediation (2022)

Transmittal of the Request

The mediator must be appointed as soon as possible after registration of the Request for mediation. Once the mediator has accepted the appointment, the Secretary-General notifies the parties and transmits the Request and all correspondence between ICSID and the parties to the mediator (Mediation Rule 15).

Upon the acceptance of appointment and transmittal of the Request:

• A member of the ICSID Secretariat (legal counsel) is designated as the Secretary for the mediation (Mediation Administrative and Financial Regulation 2).
• The parties are invited to file initial written statements 15 days after the transmittal of the Request to the mediator (Mediation Rule 19).
• The first session (Mediation Rule 20) must be held within 30 days from the date of transmittal, unless the parties agree otherwise (Mediation Rule 20(1)). The Secretary for the mediation will contact the mediator and the parties to enquire about their availability for the session.
• The Secretary for the mediation will ask the parties to make an advance payment to cover the costs of the mediation (Mediation Administrative and Financial Regulation 7(1)(b)). The amount of this first advance will vary depending on the number of mediators and the anticipated expenses in the subsequent phase of the mediation. The parties may expect an advance in the order of US$25-50,000 per party. The amount that was advanced by the party instituting the mediation upon registration of the Request will be considered as partial payment of its share of this payment (Mediation Administrative and Financial Regulation 8(1)(a)). Any unused funds will be reimbursed to the parties.
• Administrative charges in the form of hourly fees (see Schedule of Fees) apply, which will be divided equally between the parties unless the parties otherwise agree (Mediation Rule 9). These charges are deducted periodically from the parties’ advances.