Opportunities in conflict resolution offered by OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration focus of seminar discussion

The Swedish OSCE Chairpersonship organized a seminar on 1 June 2021 to discuss the opportunities offered by the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in the realm of conflict resolution within the OSCE. The event offered the opportunity to highlight the benefits of the OSCE Court and to describe its mechanisms and procedures. Panel discussions focused on how to overcome the current challenges for the OSCE Court to become fully activated.

Ulrika Funered, Permanent Representative of Sweden and Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council, mentioned in her remarks that the OSCE Court remains a well-crafted, but hidden tool for conflict resolution.

Emmanuel Decaux, President of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, underlined that the adoption of the Stockholm Convention in 1992 extended the political commitments of the OSCE participating States to legal obligations enshrined in one of the rare treaties concluded under the auspices of the OSCE. He stressed the importance to see the Court as an integral part of the “toolbox” available to participating States, even beyond the circle of States parties to the Convention that he wished to see extended. Jude Erkki Kourula, Vice-President of the Court, presented the main features of conciliation and arbitration, the two mechanisms laid down in the Stockholm Convention.

Carl Magnus Nesser, Director General for Legal Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, concluded the seminar. “There is a need to make the Court more visible and to ensure that it stands ready to fulfil its tasks. As Chair of the OSCE and depositary to the Stockholm Convention we are committed to do our part”, he added.