Precedent-Setting NGO Campaign Saves the World Bank\u27s Inspection Panel

This article, after describing the stakes in the ongoing debate about the operating procedures of the World Bank\u27s Inspection Panel (Panel), explains the causes of this controversy. Thereafter it discusses the evolution of the pro­posal of the Working Group of the Bank\u27s Board of Directors to correct the problems in the Panel\u27s operating procedures. It suggests that, if the Board has the political will to adopt it, the final proposal of the Working Group has the potential to create a Panel procedure that is effective, independent, and impartial. The reason for this possibility is that the Bank, in an innovative rule-making procedure, allowed interested parties to submit comments on the proposal to the Bank, and the Board held an unprecedented meeting with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the proposal of the Working Group