ANNULMENT OF ARBITRATION AWARDS UNDER THE ICSID CONVENTION

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the two systems of annulment of investment arbitration awards: the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) system and non-ICSID systems. Special attention is paid to the procedure of annulment of arbitral awards by national courts. The article demonstrates that laws of other states contain provisions for annulment of arbitral awards. The article analyses several cases which demonstrate the procedure of annulment of arbitral awards by national courts. Attention is also paid to the provisions that deal with the grounds and mechanism for annulment of an award as set out by the ICSID Convention. Under the non-ICSID system an arbitral award may be set aside according to the grounds provided by a court and under the laws of the state where it was rendered. It is stated that the mechanism for annulment of investment arbitration awards set up in the ICSID Convention is a fully autonomous procedure, and arbitration is independent from any national legal system. The most frequently used grounds for annulment of arbitral awards are: improper constitution of the tribunal, manifest excess of powers, failure to state reasons.