Outgoing President of OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration Christian Tomuschat hands over duties to successor Emmanuel Decaux

The new Bureau of the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE met in Vienna on 6 November 2019, for the handover of current affairs by the outgoing President, Christian Tomuschat to his successor, Emmanuel Decaux.

Addressing members of the Bureau, Tomuschat reflected on achievements over the past six years and thanked the Bureau’s former members for their work and commitment. The Court has gained a specific profile thanks to two colloquia organized in 2015 and 2018, which resulted in academic studies focusing on conciliation. States should realize that conciliation or arbitration under the Stockholm Convention constitute an option to their advantage and not a threat, he concluded.

President Decaux expressed a warm welcome to the new members and highlighted the Court’s solid legal framework and the flexibility of the mechanisms: “We are the ‘Swiss army knife’ of conciliation and arbitration,” he said. In times where unilateralism is seemingly marking international relations, he added, it is essential for States to be offered institutional spaces for negotiations, conciliation and arbitration.

The meeting was also the first exchange among members of the recently elected Bureau. They reflected on the current situation of the Court and worked on a strategy and action plan for the coming years.

Furthermore, the members of the Court elected Judge Erkki Kourula (Finland) as Vice-President according to the provisions of Article 9 of the Rules of Procedure.

The Bureau of the Court elected in October 2019 by the appointed conciliators and arbitrators to a new mandate of six years is composed of: Emmanuel Decaux (President), Erkki Kourula (Vice-President); Riccardo Pisillo Mazzeschi, Vasilka Sancin, Christian Tomuschat (members of the Bureau) as well as Mats Melin, Anne Ramberg, Verica Trstenjak and Silja Vöneky (alternate members of the Bureau).

The Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE, which is based in Geneva, provides a set of mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States. The Court was established by the Convention of Stockholm which entered into force on 5 of December 1994. To date, 34 States have ratified the Convention.