The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) recently launched its first staffed office outside its Washington, DC headquarters in Singapore.
The Singapore office aims to serve as the Centre’s regional hub for Asia and the Pacific.
The office was officially launched on August 26 by Singapore’s Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong SC and ICSID Secretary-General Martina Polasek, during Singapore Convention Week.
The launch follows the signing of a Letter of Intent between Singapore’s Ministry of Law and ICSID on August 25, 2025, formalising plans to establish the office.
Polasek described the opening as a significant expansion of ICSID’s global presence.
“This is the first time in our 60-year history that ICSID has established a staffed office outside of Washington, DC, and we are delighted to have so many of you here to witness it,” she said.
The Singapore office will be housed at 10 Marina Boulevard alongside the other four World Bank Group organisations operating from Singapore.
It will be led by ICSID Chief Counsel Frauke Nitschke and Senior Legal Counsel Jon Chevry, with Legal Counsel Yuichiro Omori and Carlos Molina Esteban also joining the team.
ICSID will additionally have a presence at Maxwell Chambers Suites.
The Singapore office aims to provide support to parties and counsel in the region, strengthen outreach to States, investors and legal practitioners, and promote ICSID’s services in investment dispute prevention, management and resolution.
It will also facilitate hearings involving parties and counsel from the region at Maxwell Chambers and other venues across Asia-Pacific, while supporting capacity-building programmes and knowledge sharing.
Polasek said the office would help expand the pool of arbitrators, conciliators and mediators from the Asia-Pacific region and allow ICSID to better engage with law schools and younger practitioners.
“We want our panels to reflect the cultural, legal, and professional richness of this region,” she said.
Tong said the office would strengthen ICSID’s ability to respond to the investment dispute needs of governments and investors amid growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
“Credible and neutral multilateral institutions for resolving investment disputes, like ICSID, are more important than ever,” he said.
Polasek also said ICSID was prepared to serve as the registry of a potential appellate body for ICSID awards, subject to approval by its Member States and participating States. She said the Centre’s experience administering more than 240 annulment proceedings could support the development of such a mechanism.
The Singapore office is part of a wider expansion of ICSID’s global presence. An office in Paris, announced earlier this year, is scheduled to launch later in 2026, with the Centre also working to extend its presence to Africa and Latin America.
ICSID, a member of the World Bank Group, provides a neutral forum for resolving investment disputes between States and foreign investors. It has 159 Member States as of August 2026.