The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and Development through the Multinational Corporation

The multinational corporation (MNC) as a significant phenomenon in development economics has probably come to stay. The problem for developing countries is how to harness the MNC\u27s power for their own development, and at the same time, limit its all-too-available capacity and potential for unlimited exploitation and influence. Clearly, as pointed out by the Report of the Group of Eminent Persons, there remains much to be done substantively through the medium of the international convention and international organization, both to promote the role of the MNC in development and to control its operations in such a way as to ensure maximum protection and profit for the host state\u27s economy. However, no system of controls or protection would be complete or effective without machinery for the settlement of disputes between MNCs and host countries. By deemphasizing the role of international dispute settlement, the Report of the Group of Eminent Persons, in the opinion of this author, did a disservice to the cause of an international regime. Nevertheless, the Report does refer to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes as a mechanism for the settlement of disputes between MNCs and host countries