World Bank Inspection Panel under Threat

 

February 2, 2011

The World Bank currently is proposing measures that would undermine the independence and effectiveness of its Inspection Panel.  The World Bank Inspection Panel is a quasi-independent mechanism created to make the Bank more accountable to people affected by Bank financing.  The Panel provides a forum for people affected by a Bank-funded project to request an investigation into the Bank’s role in the project and the extent to which the Bank has complied with its social and environmental policies.  The Inspection Panel reports directly to the Board of Directors regarding any measures of non-compliance by Bank Management.   In the 15 years since it was created, the Panel has served as a model for accountability for every major International Financial Institution.

A recent "note" by the World Bank General Counsel threatens to undermine this accountability by second-guessing the Inspection Panel's determinations in the context of a complaint to the Inspection Panel by communities in Liberia.  Since lawyers in the Office of General Counsel provided legal support to Bank Management in responding to this complaint, the General Counsel has a conflict of interest that should preclude him/her from opining on Inspection Panel action in the context of a given complaint.  

In a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick, CIEL and other civil society organizations and legal experts expressed concern that the General Counsel's actions could damage both the Panel’s independence and the World Bank’s reputation and jeopardize support by governments that value the accountability the Panel provides.

For more information, please contact Anne Perrault.