Adjudicator Compensation Systems and Investor–State Dispute Settlement

By David Gaukrodger, Published by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Papers on International Investment, November 2017

Compensation for adjudicators is generally considered a core issue for judicial independence and for attracting good judges in the institutional design for courts. This paper examines compensation systems for adjudicators and dispute settlement administrators in investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS). Comparing approaches in domestic courts in advanced economies, it provides historical context and examines remuneration reform for judges, from private fees to salaries, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It also addresses the impacts of compensation systems on adjudicators; contemporary approaches to the compensation of judges in advanced economies; and the co-existence in advanced economies of national courts with salaried judges since the early 19th century with generally strong support for commercial arbitration based on ad hoc fee-based remuneration. It compares commercial arbitration and investment arbitration, focusing on the different effects and perceptions of largely similar compensation systems. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/c2890bd5-en