Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Professor Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, CBE, QC
- Authors' preface to the second edition
- Table of cases
- List of abbreviations
- Text of the ICSID Convention
- Procedural calendar
- PREAMBLE
- CHAPTER I International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
- Article 1 Establishment of Centre
- Article 2 Seat of Centre
- Article 3 Organization of Centre
- Article 4 Composition of Administrative Council
- Article 5 Chairman of Administrative Council
- Article 6 Functions of Administrative Council
- Article 7 Decisions of Administrative Council
- Article 8 No Remuneration for Members
- Article 9 Composition of Secretariat
- Article 10 Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General
- Article 11 Functions of Secretary-General
- Article 12 Panels of Conciliators and Arbitrators
- Article 13 Designation to Panels
- Article 14 Qualities of Panel Members
- Article 15 Periods of Office of Panel Members
- Article 16 Multiple Designations
- Article 17 Financing
- Article 18 Legal Personality of Centre
- Article 19 Immunities and Privileges of Centre
- Article 20 Immunity from Legal Process
- Article 21 Personal Immunities
- Article 22 Immunities of Parties and Witnesses
- Article 23 Archives and Communications
- Article 24 Tax Exemptions
- CHAPTER II Jurisdiction of the Centre
- CHAPTER III Conciliation
- CHAPTER IV Arbitration
- CHAPTER V Replacement and Disqualification of Conciliators and Arbitrators
- CHAPTER VI Cost of Proceedings
- CHAPTER VII Place of Proceedings
- CHAPTER VIII Disputes between Contracting States
- CHAPTER IX Amendment
- CHAPTER X Final Provisions
- Final Clause
- Consolidated bibliography
- Index by article
- Index by subject
Article 20 - Immunity from Legal Process
from CHAPTER I - International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Professor Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, CBE, QC
- Authors' preface to the second edition
- Table of cases
- List of abbreviations
- Text of the ICSID Convention
- Procedural calendar
- PREAMBLE
- CHAPTER I International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
- Article 1 Establishment of Centre
- Article 2 Seat of Centre
- Article 3 Organization of Centre
- Article 4 Composition of Administrative Council
- Article 5 Chairman of Administrative Council
- Article 6 Functions of Administrative Council
- Article 7 Decisions of Administrative Council
- Article 8 No Remuneration for Members
- Article 9 Composition of Secretariat
- Article 10 Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General
- Article 11 Functions of Secretary-General
- Article 12 Panels of Conciliators and Arbitrators
- Article 13 Designation to Panels
- Article 14 Qualities of Panel Members
- Article 15 Periods of Office of Panel Members
- Article 16 Multiple Designations
- Article 17 Financing
- Article 18 Legal Personality of Centre
- Article 19 Immunities and Privileges of Centre
- Article 20 Immunity from Legal Process
- Article 21 Personal Immunities
- Article 22 Immunities of Parties and Witnesses
- Article 23 Archives and Communications
- Article 24 Tax Exemptions
- CHAPTER II Jurisdiction of the Centre
- CHAPTER III Conciliation
- CHAPTER IV Arbitration
- CHAPTER V Replacement and Disqualification of Conciliators and Arbitrators
- CHAPTER VI Cost of Proceedings
- CHAPTER VII Place of Proceedings
- CHAPTER VIII Disputes between Contracting States
- CHAPTER IX Amendment
- CHAPTER X Final Provisions
- Final Clause
- Consolidated bibliography
- Index by article
- Index by subject
Summary
All drafts of the Convention provided for the Centre's immunity from all legal process (History, Vol. I, pp. 92, 94). It was explained that the immunity of other international organizations served as a model and that the slightly different situation of the World Bank was due to the Bank's international borrowing activities (History, Vol. II, pp. 147, 391, 491, 741).
Because of the Centre's broad jurisdictional immunity any lawsuits by disappointed parties to ICSID arbitration are ineffective. This may have been the reason why an unsuccessful claimant in an ICSID case tried to sue the World Bank which does not enjoy an equally broad immunity from legal process (see Art. 18, para. 6).
The possibility of a waiver of the Centre's immunity was added to the text after a brief discussion (History, Vol. II, pp. 724, 741). There was a formal declaration to the effect that the Centre would not invoke its immunity in the case of counterclaims directly connected with the principal claim in proceedings instituted by the Centre (at pp. 741, 748, 935).
Art. 20 is analogous to Sec. 2 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and Sec. 4 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The ICSID ConventionA Commentary, pp. 61Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009