Dr Martins Paparinskis appointed as a Conciliator of the OSCE Court

Dr Martins Paparinskis, Reader in Public International Law at UCL Laws, has been appointed as a Conciliator of the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE (OSCE Court).

The OSCE Court, which is based in Geneva, provides a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States. It was established in 1995 by the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE (Convention). Thirty-three States are Parties to the Convention. The OSCE Court is composed of recognized experts in the field of international law who are appointed by the States Parties. The conciliators and arbitrators are headed by a bureau, which is chaired by Christian Tomuschat, professor emeritus of Humboldt University Berlin and President of the Court.

The main mechanism offered by the Convention is conciliation, which aims at proposing terms of settlement to the States Parties to a dispute. This mechanism can be activated unilaterally by any State Party to the Convention for a dispute between it and one or more other States parties. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the conciliation commission presents a report and recommendations to the Parties. The Parties then have thirty days to decide whether they accept those or not. If there is no agreement within that period, and if the parties have agreed to submit to arbitration, an ad hoc arbitral tribunal may be set up whose ruling will be legally binding on the Parties. Arbitral proceedings may also be initiated by agreement between States parties concerned.