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ARTICLE · 29 JUNE 2020

ICSID And UNCITRAL Release Their Draft Code Of Conduct For Adjudicators: A Long Road Travelled And Yet A Long Way To Walk

McCarthy Tétrault
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On May 1, 2020, the Secretariats of the ICSID and UNCITRAL released their long-awaited draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement ("Draft Code of Conduct").

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
The International Arbitration Blog
The International Arbitration Blog
Morgane Palau
Morgane Palau
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On May 1, 2020, the Secretariats of the ICSID and UNCITRAL released their long-awaited draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement ("Draft Code of Conduct").

This Draft Code of Conduct is the result of the ICSID and UNCITRAL coming together to address an ethical issue which is often the source of criticism in Investor-State Dispute Settlement ("ISDS"), namely "the lack or apparent lack of independence and impartiality of ISDS tribunal members."1 In doing so, the Draft Code of Conduct serves to reinforce the legitimacy of the ISDS process.

The Draft Code of Conduct sets the table for the adoption of a Code of Conduct for Adjudicators which will "contain concrete rules rather than guidelines."2In other words, Member States have yet to come to an agreement on the common standards they share before this Draft Code of Conduct gives place to a binding (or non-binding) corpus of rules.

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