Guide to ICSID arbitration.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has become the leading arbitration institution for resolution of investor-state disputes, especially as ICSID may administer arbitrations initiated under such multilateral treaties as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the growing number of bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Accordingly, familiarity with the regime and jurisprudence of ICSID arbitration is an essential component of any international investment venture. This Guide to ICSID Arbitration, written by three leading practitioners in the eminent international law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, fills the gap in the literature between generic descriptions and academic commentary on ICSID or its aspects. It provides a sufficiently detailed but still ¿user-friendly¿ understanding of what ICSID arbitration is, when and how it can and should be used, and how an ICSID case works from start to finish. It offers potential and non-expert users of the ICSID regime¿as well as those generally interested in international commercial arbitration¿with the essentials of the ICSID Convention and of BITs, the various sets of rules, ICSID procedure, and the rapidly developing ICSID jurisprudence. The Guide includes the