Registration - ICSID Mediation (2022)

As soon as a party has filed a Request for mediation on the basis of a pre-existing agreement to mediate (Mediation Rule 5) and has paid the prescribed lodging fee, ICSID sends the Request to the other party.

If there is no pre-existing agreement to mediate and the Request includes an offer to mediate, ICSID will send the Request to the other party and invite that party to state whether it accepts or rejects the offer (Mediation Rule 6).

The Screening Process & Registration

Once an agreement to mediate pursuant to the ICSID Mediation Rules is established, ICSID reviews the Request to determine whether it can be registered. This screening process is mandated by Mediation Rule 7.

The ICSID Secretary-General will register the Request for mediation if, on the basis of the information provided, the request falls within the scope of mediations the Secretariat is authorized to administer; namely, that it relates to an investment, involves a State or a regional economic integration organization, and the parties have consented in writing (Mediation Rule 2).

In the registration notice sent to the parties, the Secretary-General will invite the parties to appoint the mediator without delay. The date of registration triggers time for parties to agree on whether there will be one mediator or two co-mediators, (30 days) and to appoint the mediator by agreement (60 days) (Mediation Rule 13(3) and (4)).