Abstract The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention and the increasing integration of sustainable development provisions into international investment agreements demonstrate an intricate nexus between ICSID arbitration and sustainable development. In the procedural context, transparency in ICSID arbitral proceedings has the potential to serve as a pathway to align ICSID arbitration with sustainable development. The utilization of transparency can be substantially enunciated in three dimensions: availability and accessibility of information, access for non-disputing parties to cases, and disclosure of third-party funding. While increased transparency may generate deleterious effects, the theory of constructivism supports greater transparency in ICSID arbitration. The ‘fundamental minimums + flexibility’ pattern can be viewed as striking a necessary balance between greater transparency and integrity of ICSID arbitration to deliver procedural justice that not only brings the outcome of substantive justice but also considers public justice.
Fenghua Li (2025) studied this question.