Chapter I 

Establishment of the Commission 

Rule 1 

General Obligations 

(1) Upon notification of the registration of the request for conciliation, the parties shall, with all possible dispatch, proceed to constitute a Commission, with due regard to Section 2 of Chapter III of the Convention. 

(2) Unless such information is provided in the request, the parties shall communicate to the Secretary-General as soon as possible any provisions agreed by them regarding the number of conciliators and the method of their appointment. 

Rule 2 

Method of Constituting Commission in the Absence of Previous Agreement 

(1) If the parties, at the time of the registration of the request for conciliation, have not agreed upon the number of conciliators and the method of their appointment, they shall, unless they agree otherwise, follow the following procedure: 

(a) the requesting party shall, within 10 days after the registration of the request, propose to the other party the appointment of a sole conciliator or of a specified uneven number of conciliators and specify the method proposed for their appointment; 

(b) within 20 days after receipt of the proposals made by the requesting party, the other party shall: 

(i) accept such proposals; or 

(ii) make other proposals regarding the number of conciliators and the method of their appointment; 

(c) within 20 days after receipt of the reply containing any such other proposals, the requesting party shall notify the other party whether it accepts or rejects such proposals. 

(2) The communications provided for in paragraph (1) shall be made or promptly confirmed in writing and shall either be transmitted through the Secretary-General or directly between the parties with a copy to the Secretary-General. The parties shall promptly notify the Secretary-General of the contents of any agreement reached. 

(3) At any time 60 days after the registration of the request, if no agreement on another procedure is reached, either party may inform the Secretary-General that it chooses the formula provided for in Article 29(2)(b) of the Convention. The Secretary-General shall thereupon promptly inform the other party that the Commission is to be constituted in accordance with that Article. 

Rule 3 

Appointment of Conciliators to a Commission Constituted in Accordance with Convention Article 29(2)(b) 

(1) If the Commission is to be constituted in accordance with Article 29(2)(b) of the Convention: 

(a) either party shall, in a communication to the other party: 

(i) name two persons, identifying one of them as the conciliator appointed by it and the other as the conciliator proposed to be the President of the Commission; and 

(ii) invite the other party to concur in the appointment of the conciliator proposed to be the President of the Commission and to appoint another conciliator; 

(b) promptly upon receipt of this communication the other party shall, in its reply: 

(i) name a person as the conciliator appointed by it; and 

(ii) concur in the appointment of the conciliator proposed to be the President of the Commission or name another person as the conciliator proposed to be President; 

(c) promptly upon receipt of the reply containing such a proposal, the initiating party shall notify the other party whether it concurs in the appointment of the conciliator proposed by that party to be the President of the Commission. 

(2) The communications provided for in this Rule shall be made or promptly confirmed in writing and shall either be transmitted through the Secretary-General or directly between the parties with a copy to the Secretary-General. 

Rule 4 

Appointment of Conciliators by the Chairman of the Administrative Council 

(1) If the Commission is not constituted within 90 days after the dispatch by the Secretary-General of the notice of registration, or such other period as the parties may agree, either party may, through the Secretary-General, address to the Chairman of the Administrative Council a request in writing to appoint the conciliator or conciliators not yet appointed and to designate a conciliator to be the President of the Commission. 

(2) The provision of paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis in the event that the parties have agreed that the conciliators shall elect the President of the Commission and they fail to do so. 

(3) The Secretary-General shall forthwith send a copy of the request to the other party. 

(4) The Chairman shall, with due regard to Article 31(1) of the Convention, and after consulting both parties as far as possible, comply with that request within 30 days after its receipt. 

(5) The Secretary-General shall promptly notify the parties of any appointment or designation made by the Chairman. 

Rule 5 

Acceptance of Appointments 

(1) The party or parties concerned shall notify the Secretary-General of the appointment of each conciliator and indicate the method of his appointment. 

(2) As soon as the Secretary-General has been informed by a party or the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the appointment of a conciliator, he shall seek an acceptance from the appointee. 

(3) If a conciliator fails to accept his appointment within 15 days, the Secretary-General shall promptly notify the parties, and if appropriate the Chairman, and invite them to proceed to the appointment of another conciliator in accordance with the method followed for the previous appointment. 

Rule 6 

Constitution of the Commission 

(1) The Commission shall be deemed to be constituted and the proceeding to have begun on the date the Secretary-General notifies the parties that all the conciliators have accepted their appointment. 

(2) Before or at the first session of the Commission, each conciliator shall sign a declaration in the following form: 

"To the best of my knowledge there is no reason why I should not serve on the Conciliation Commission constituted by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes with respect to a dispute between . . . and . . . 

"I shall keep confidential all information coming to my knowledge as a result of my participation in this proceeding, as well as the contents of any report drawn up by the Commission. 

"I shall not accept any instruction or compensation with regard to the proceeding from any source except as provided in the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes and in the Regulations and Rules made pursuant thereto. 

"A statement of my past and present professional, business and other relationships (if any) with the parties is attached hereto." 

Any conciliator failing to sign such a declaration by the end of the first session of the Commission shall be deemed to have resigned. 

Rule 7 

Replacement of Conciliators 

At any time before the Commission is constituted, each party may replace any conciliator appointed by it and the parties may by common consent agree to replace any conciliator. The procedure of such replacement shall be in accordance with Rules 1, 5 and 6. 

Rule 8 

Incapacity or Resignation of Conciliators 

(1) If a conciliator becomes incapacitated or unable to perform the duties of his office, the procedure in respect of the disqualification of conciliators set forth in Rule 9 shall apply. 

(2) A conciliator may resign by submitting his resignation to the other members of the Commission and the Secretary-General. If the conciliator was appointed by one of the parties, the Commission shall promptly consider the reasons for his resignation and decide whether it consents thereto. The Commission shall promptly notify the Secretary-General of its decision. 

Rule 9 

Disqualification of Conciliators 

(1) A party proposing the disqualification of a conciliator pursuant to Article 57 of the Convention shall promptly, and in any event before the Commission first recommends terms of settlement of the dispute to the parties or when the proceeding is closed (whichever occurs earlier), file its proposal with the Secretary-General, stating its reasons therefor. 

(2) The Secretary-General shall forthwith: 

(a) transmit the proposal to the members of the Commission and, if it relates to a sole conciliator or to a majority of the members of the Commission, to the Chairman of the Administrative Council; and 

(b) notify the other party of the proposal. 

(3) The conciliator to whom the proposal relates may, without delay, furnish explanations to the Commission or the Chairman, as the case may be. 

(4) Unless the proposal relates to a majority of the members of the Commission, the other members shall promptly consider and vote on the proposal in the absence of the conciliator concerned. If those members are equally divided, they shall, through the Secretary-General, promptly notify the Chairman of the proposal, of any explanation furnished by the conciliator concerned and of their failure to reach a decision. 

(5) Whenever the Chairman has to decide on a proposal to disqualify a conciliator, he shall take that decision within 30 days after he has received the proposal. 

(6) The proceeding shall be suspended until a decision has been taken on the proposal. 

Rule 10 

Procedure during a Vacancy on the Commission 

(1) The Secretary-General shall forthwith notify the parties and, if necessary, the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the disqualification, death, incapacity or resignation of a conciliator and of the consent, if any, of the Commission to a resignation. 

(2) Upon the notification by the Secretary-General of a vacancy on the Commission, the proceeding shall be or remain suspended until the vacancy has been filled. 

Rule 11 

Filling Vacancies on the Commission 

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a vacancy resulting from the disqualification, death, incapacity or resignation of a conciliator shall be promptly filled by the same method by which his appointment had been made. 

(2) In addition to filling vacancies relating to conciliators appointed by him, the Chairman of the Administrative Council shall appoint a person from the Panel of Conciliators: 

(a) to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation, without the consent of the Commission, of a conciliator appointed by a party; or 

(b) at the request of either party, to fill any other vacancy, if no new appointment is made and accepted within 30 days of the notification of the vacancy by the Secretary-General. 

(3) The procedure for filling a vacancy shall be in accordance with Rules 1, 4(4), 4(5), 5 and, mutatis mutandis, 6(2). 

Rule 12 

Resumption of Proceeding after Filling a Vacancy 

As soon as a vacancy on the Commission has been filled, the proceeding shall continue from the point it had reached at the time the vacancy occurred. The newly appointed conciliator may, however, require that any hearings be repeated in whole or in part. 

Chapter II 

Working of the Commission 

Rule 13 

Sessions of the Commission 

(1) The Commission shall hold its first session within 60 days after its constitution or such other period as the parties may agree. The dates of that session shall be fixed by the President of the Commission after consultation with its members and the Secretary-General. If upon its constitution the Commission has no President because the parties have agreed that the President shall be elected by its members, the Secretary-General shall fix the dates of that session. In both cases, the parties shall be consulted as far as possible. 

(2) The dates of subsequent sessions shall be determined by the Commission, after consultation with the Secretary-General and with the parties as far as possible. 

(3) The Commission shall meet at the seat of the Centre or at such other place as may have been agreed by the parties in accordance with Article 63 of the Convention. If the parties agree that the proceeding shall be held at a place other than the Centre or an institution with which the Centre has made the necessary arrangements, they shall consult with the Secretary-General and request the approval of the Commission. Failing such approval, the Commission shall meet at the seat of the Centre. 

(4) The Secretary-General shall notify the members of the Commission and the parties of the dates and place of the sessions of the Commission in good time. 

Rule 14 

Sittings of the Commission 

(1) The President of the Commission shall conduct its hearings and preside at its deliberations. 

(2) Except as the parties otherwise agree, the presence of a majority of the members of the Commission shall be required at its sittings. 

(3) The President of the Commission shall fix the date and hour of its sittings. 

Rule 15 

Deliberations of the Commission 

(1) The deliberations of the Commission shall take place in private and remain secret. 

(2) Only members of the Commission shall take part in its deliberations. No other person shall be admitted unless the Commission decides otherwise. 

Rule 16 

Decisions of the Commission 

(1) Decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority of the votes of all its members. Abstention shall count as a negative vote. 

(2) Except as otherwise provided by these Rules or decided by the Commission, it may take any decision by correspondence among its members, provided that all of them are consulted. Decisions so taken shall be certified by the President of the Commission. 

Rule 17 

Incapacity of the President 

If at any time the President of the Commission should be unable to act, his functions shall be performed by one of the other members of the Commission, acting in the order in which the Secretary-General had received the notice of their acceptance of their appointment to the Commission. 

Rule 18 

Representation of the Parties 

(1) Each party may be represented or assisted by agents, counsel or advocates whose names and authority shall be notified by that party to the Secretary-General, who shall promptly inform the Commission and the other party. 

(2) For the purposes of these Rules, the expression "party" includes, where the context so admits, an agent, counsel or advocate authorized to represent that party. 

Chapter III 

General Procedural Provisions 

Rule 19 

Procedural Orders 

The Commission shall make the orders required for the conduct of the proceeding. 

Rule 20 

Preliminary Procedural Consultation 

(1) As early as possible after the constitution of a Commission, its President shall endeavor to ascertain the views of the parties regarding questions of procedure. For this purpose he may request the parties to meet him. He shall, in particular, seek their views on the following matters: 

(a) the number of members of the Commission required to constitute a quorum at its sittings; 

(b) the language or languages to be used in the proceeding; 

(c) the evidence, oral or written, which each party intends to produce or to request the Commission to call for, and the written statements which each party intends to file, as well as the time limits within which such evidence should be produced and such statements filed; 

(d) the number of copies desired by each party of instruments filed by the other; and 

(e) the manner in which the record of the hearings shall be kept. 

(2) In the conduct of the proceeding the Commission shall apply any agreement between the parties on procedural matters, except as otherwise provided in the Convention or the Administrative and Financial Regulations. 

Rule 21 

Procedural Languages 

(1) The parties may agree on the use of one or two languages to be used in the proceeding, provided that, if they agree on any language that is not an official language of the Centre, the Commission, after consultation with the Secretary-General, gives its approval. If the parties do not agree on any such procedural language, each of them may select one of the official languages (i.e. English, French and Spanish) for this purpose. 

(2) If two procedural languages are selected by the parties, any instrument may be filed in either language. Either language may be used at the hearings, subject, if the Commission so requires, to translation and interpretation. The recommendations and the report of the Commission shall be rendered and the record kept in both procedural languages, both versions being equally authentic. 

Chapter IV 

Conciliation Procedures 

Rule 22 

Functions of the Commission 

(1) In order to clarify the issues in dispute between the parties, the Commission shall hear the parties and shall endeavor to obtain any information that might serve this end. The parties shall be associated with its work as closely as possible. 

(2) In order to bring about agreement between the parties, the Commission may, from time to time at any stage of the proceeding, make-orally or in writing-recommendations to the parties. It may recommend that the parties accept specific terms of settlement or that they refrain, while it seeks to bring about agreement between them, from specific acts that might aggravate the dispute; it shall point out to the parties the arguments in favor of its recommendations. It may fix time limits within which each party shall inform the Commission of its decision concerning the recommendations made. 

(3) The Commission, in order to obtain information that might enable it to discharge its functions, may at any stage of the proceeding: 

(a) request from either party oral explanations, documents and other information; 

(b) request evidence from other persons; and 

(c) with the consent of the party concerned, visit any place connected with the dispute or conduct inquiries there, provided that the parties may participate in any such visits and inquiries. 

Rule 23 

Cooperation of the Parties 

(1) The parties shall cooperate in good faith with the Commission and, in particular, at its request furnish all relevant documents, information and explanations as well as use the means at their disposal to enable the Commission to hear witnesses and experts whom it desires to call. The parties shall also facilitate visits to and inquiries at any place connected with the dispute that the Commission desires to undertake. 

(2) The parties shall comply with any time limits agreed with or fixed by the Commission. 

Rule 24 

Transmission of the Request 

As soon as the Commission is constituted, the Secretary-General shall transmit to each member a copy of the request by which the proceeding was initiated, of the supporting documentation, of the notice of registration and of any communication received from either party in response thereto. 

Rule 25 

Written Statements 

(1) Upon the constitution of the Commission, its President shall invite each party to file, within 30 days or such longer time limit as he may fix, a written statement of its position. If, upon its constitution, the Commission has no President, such invitation shall be issued and any such longer time limit shall be fixed by the Secretary-General. At any stage of the proceeding, within such time limits as the Commission shall fix, either party may file such other written statements as it deems useful and relevant. 

(2) Except as otherwise provided by the Commission after consultation with the parties and the Secretary-General, every written statement or other instrument shall be filed in the form of a signed original accompanied by additional copies whose number shall be two more than the number of members of the Commission. 

Rule 26 

Supporting Documentation 

(1) Every written statement or other instrument filed by a party may be accompanied by supporting documentation, in such form and number of copies as required by Administrative and Financial Regulation 30. 

(2) Supporting documentation shall ordinarily be filed together with the instrument to which it relates, and in any case within the time limit fixed for the filing of such instrument. 

Rule 27 

Hearings 

(1) The hearings of the Commission shall take place in private and, except as the parties otherwise agree, shall remain secret. 

(2) The Commission shall decide, with the consent of the parties, which other persons besides the parties, their agents, counsel and advocates, witnesses and experts during their testimony, and officers of the Commission may attend the hearings. 

Rule 28 

Witnesses and Experts 

(1) Each party may, at any stage of the proceeding, request that the Commission hear the witnesses and experts whose evidence the party considers relevant. The Commission shall fix a time limit within which such hearing shall take place. 

(2) Witnesses and experts shall, as a rule, be examined before the Commission by the parties under the control of its President. Questions may also be put to them by any member of the Commission. 

(3) If a witness or expert is unable to appear before it, the Commission, in agreement with the parties, may make appropriate arrangements for the evidence to be given in a written deposition or to be taken by examination elsewhere. The parties may participate in any such examination. 

Chapter V 

Termination of the Proceeding 

Rule 29 

Objections to Jurisdiction 

(1) Any objection that the dispute is not within the jurisdiction of the Centre or, for other reasons, is not within the competence of the Commission shall be made as early as possible. A party shall file the objection with the Secretary-General no later than in its first written statement or at the first hearing if that occurs earlier, unless the facts on which the objection is based are unknown to the party at that time. 

(2) The Commission may on its own initiative consider, at any stage of the proceeding, whether the dispute before it is within the jurisdiction of the Centre and within its own competence. 

(3) Upon the formal raising of an objection, the proceeding on the merits shall be suspended. The Commission shall obtain the views of the parties on the objection. 

(4) The Commission may deal with the objection as a preliminary question or join it to the merits of the dispute. If the Commission overrules the objection or joins it to the merits, it shall resume consideration of the latter without delay. 

(5) If the Commission decides that the dispute is not within the jurisdiction of the Centre or not within its own competence, it shall close the proceeding and draw up a report to that effect, in which it shall state its reasons. 

Rule 30 

Closure of the Proceeding 

(1) If the parties reach agreement on the issues in dispute, the Commission shall close the proceeding and draw up its report noting the issues in dispute and recording that the parties have reached agreement. At the request of the parties, the report shall record the detailed terms and conditions of their agreement. 

(2) If at any stage of the proceeding it appears to the Commission that there is no likelihood of agreement between the parties, the Commission shall, after notice to the parties, close the proceeding and draw up its report noting the submission of the dispute to conciliation and recording the failure of the parties to reach agreement. 

(3) If one party fails to appear or participate in the proceeding, the Commission shall, after notice to the parties, close the proceeding and draw up its report noting the submission of the dispute to conciliation and recording the failure of that party to appear or participate. 

Rule 31 

Preparation of the Report 

The report of the Commission shall be drawn up and signed within 30 days from the closure of the proceeding. 

Rule 32 

The Report 

(1) The report shall be in writing and shall contain, in addition to the material specified in paragraph (2) and in Rule 30: 

(a) a precise designation of each party; 

(b) a statement that the Commission was established under the Convention, and a description of the method of its constitution; 

(c) the names of the members of the Commission, and an identification of the appointing authority of each; 

(d) the names of the agents, counsel and advocates of the parties; 

(e) the dates and place of the sittings of the Commission; and 

(f) a summary of the proceeding. 

(2) The report shall also record any agreement of the parties, pursuant to Article 35 of the Convention, concerning the use in other proceedings of the views expressed or statements or admissions or offers of settlement made in the proceeding before the Commission or of the report or any recommendation made by the Commission. 

(3) The report shall be signed by the members of the Commission; the date of each signature shall be indicated. The fact that a member refuses to sign the report shall be recorded therein. 

Rule 33 

Communication of the Report 

(1) Upon signature by the last conciliator to sign, the Secretary-General shall promptly: 

(a) authenticate the original text of the report and deposit it in the archives of the Centre; and 

(b) dispatch a certified copy to each party, indicating the date of dispatch on the original text and on all copies. 

(2) The Secretary-General shall, upon request, make available to a party additional certified copies of the report. 

(3) The Centre shall not publish the report without the consent of the parties. 

Chapter VI 

General Provisions 

Rule 34 

Final Provisions 

(1) The texts of these Rules in each official language of the Centre shall be equally authentic. 

(2) These Rules may be cited as the "Conciliation Rules" of the Centre.