Investment Mediation Insights II: Investment Mediation and Arbitration—Complements or Opposites?

ICSID's Investment Mediation Insights webinar, which debuted in 2021, returned in 2025 with a new installment of practical insights into the growing field of mediation between States and investors. Parties and their counsel have a range of processes to choose from to resolve international investment disputes. While much information is available about international arbitration, there is comparatively limited information in the public domain about investment mediation. In this session, our panelists explored when each process might be most suitable and whether the two should be viewed as distinct tools or combined—either in tandem or sequentially. Links shared during the session: ICSID Mediation Rules: https://icsid.worldbank.org/rules-reg... Recordings of previous sessions: https://icsid.worldbank.org/news-and-... https://icsid.worldbank.org/news-and-... Speakers: Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler: Gabrielle is a partner of Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, Geneva, and practices international commercial and investment arbitration, having acted in over 275 international arbitrations, mainly as president. Professor Emerita at Geneva University, Gabrielle is the founder of the Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) and is or was a visiting professor at various universities on all continents. She is, among other leadership positions, Honorary President of ICCA (since 2020) and of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), is currently an expert member of the Swiss delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III. Among other awards, she has received the GAR Lifetime Achievement Award (2023) and the Chambers Europe Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arbitration (2021). Michael Mcilwrath: Michael is the founder of MDisputes Srl (www.mdisputes.com). He previously spent 22 years in the energy industry as VP of Litigation for Baker Hughes and General Electric Oil & Gas. From 2019 to 2024, he chaired the governing body of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and previously chaired the International Mediation Institute (IMI). Michael is an adjunct professor at Bocconi School of Law in Milan, and has written extensively on dispute resolution and the negotiation of international commercial contracts. In 2017 Arbitral Women recognized him as a Champion of Change. Moderator: Frauke Nitschke: Frauke is a Senior Legal Counsel at ICSID and serves as the team lead for one of the Centre’s case management teams. Frauke further leads ICSID’s investor-State mediation activities, including the development of the ICSID Mediation Rules, amendments to ICSID’s conciliation frameworks, and ICSID’s Background Paper on Investment Mediation. Frauke has developed and conducted investor-State capacity-building workshops and trainings for mediators and government officials, and led the Centre’s contributions on mediation to the United Nations Commission on Trade and Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III on investor-State dispute settlement reform. She is an accredited mediator and admitted to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C., and holds law degrees from the Freie Universität Berlin and Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M.), and a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from the FernUniversität Hagen.