ICCA Panel of Experts to Develop a Paris Agreement Conciliation Annex

The ICCA Panel of Experts to Develop a Paris Agreement Conciliation Annex convenes a high-level panel of experts to develop and promote a proposed draft conciliation annex for the Paris Climate Agreement (the Paris Agreement) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with a view to facilitating its adoption by Member States.

 

The high-level Panel brings together experts drawn from private practice, the judiciary, government, arbitral institutions, academia and international organizations, all of whom have expertise in disputes (especially conciliation processes) in the specific context of climate change.

 

The project stems from the urgent need to establish an effective dispute resolution procedure under the Paris Agreement. Article 14 of the UNFCCC, which is adopted mutatis mutandis in Article 24 of the Paris Agreement, provides that, absent agreement among States to submit disputes to the International Court of Justice or arbitration, the default dispute resolution mechanism is inter-State conciliation. Only a handful of Member States have so far consented to submitting disputes to the International Court of Justice or arbitration, making conciliation the likely dispute resolution mechanism in a dispute under the Paris Agreement’s terms. Article 14 provides certain details on the conciliation process but leaves most procedures to be adopted in an annex on conciliation. 

 

After months of drafting and stakeholder consultations, and with ICCA’s leadership and support, the ICCA Panel of Experts finalized a draft of the Paris Agreement Conciliation Annex in September 2023.  The draft consists of articles setting out proposed procedures for disputes submitted to conciliation along with commentary explaining the basis for the text and the relevant considerations for each issue presented.  The Draft Annex and Commentaries, which draw upon the rich body of practice and precedent in this area, reinforce features of effective conciliation mechanisms while providing opportunities for the disputing parties to determine the appropriate scope, procedure, and result best tailored to their dispute.

 

Most recently, the ICCA Panel of Experts has been presenting the Draft Annex at a series of events and will continue to do so in the coming months.  On 23 October 2023, Catherine Amirfar, one of the Co-Chairs of the Panel, discussed the Draft Annex as part of her presentation in a UN General Assembly Sixth Committee briefing to States titled “Pacific Settlement of Disputes beyond Contentious Settlement: Alternative Dispute Resolution in International Law: Conciliation and Mediation Efforts”.  On 13 November 2023, the Panel collaborated with the UN Foundation, and the Government of Vanuatu which sponsored the event, to hold a briefing to States on the Draft Annex in New York. 

 

Looking ahead, the Panel will also present the Draft Annex at the following side events at COP28:

 

  • 3 Dec 10h30 – 11h20 Gulf Standard Time

                 The Paris Agreement Conciliation Annex: Another Arrow in the Global Quiver for Responding Effectively to Climate Change

                 ICC Partner stage (Blue Zone, badge required) and online (see ICC's digital platform).

 

  • 5 Dec 13h20 – 14h30 Gulf Standard Time

                 Experts Panel: Developing the International Climate Regime through Conciliation and Compensation

                 Climate Law and Governance Day, Middlesex University Dubai and online.

 

If you are interested in commenting on the Draft Annex, please email icca-rapporteurs@debevoise.com

 

View the Draft Annex

 

View the Paris Agreement

 

View the UNFCCC

Co-chairs of the Panel of Experts