Submission to ICSID in breach of the convention: disputes in international civil engineering contracts

Nathan, K V S K (1994) Submission to ICSID in breach of the convention: disputes in international civil engineering contracts. PhD thesis, Queen Mary University of London, UK.

Abstract

The World Bank produces sample bidding documents for use by its member countries to prepare tender forms and contract conditions for Bankfinanced civil engineering construction contracts. The contract conditions provide for arbitration of disputes and parties to a contract may choose to submit to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) which was established by members of the World Bank for the settlement of investment disputes between states and nationals of other states. The objectives of the Thesis are to (i) examine the legality of generally submitting disputes in international civil engineering contracts to ICSID arbitration, (ii) provide an analysis of ICSID as an international arbitral institution and (iii) discuss the legal aspects of submission of disputes to ICSID arbitration in breach of the Convention that established ICSID. Chapters One, Two and Three are devoted to describing the importance of civil engineering works to economic growth and arbitration as a method of resolution of disputes. An analysis is made of the fundamentals and complexity of the arbitral process and the interfacing between legal systems, national laws and international law in international arbitrations. Chapter Four traces the genesis of ICSID and Chapter Five examines critically the salient features of ICSID arbitration, which according to the Thesis are not all exclusive to ICSID arbitration. Chapters Six and Seven analyse in depth ICSID jurisdiction ratione personae and ratione materiae. Chapter Eight argues that disputes in freestanding international civil engineering contracts are not investment disputes and that submission to ICSID is in breach of the Convention. Chapters Nine and Ten discuss the legitimate role of ICSID in developing rules of international economic law and conclude by recommending that ICSID should not detract from that role by becoming just another arbitral institution in. the business of arbitration.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Uncontrolled Keywords: arbitration; bidding; civil engineering; complexity; contract conditions; dispute; economic growth; investment
Index terms: resolution, documents, bidding, complexity, contract condition, becoming, construction contract, World Bank, jurisdiction, arbitration, economic growth, dispute
Subjects: bidding, philosophical process, contract type, economic development, legal systems, conflict resolution, systems engineering, contract structure, professional development, institutional frameworks, dispute resolution
Topics: Governance, Information Management, Contract Administration, Legal Issues, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Procurement
Descriptive scope: 2 PC

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here