Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
Martina Polasek is Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and Vice-President of the World Bank Group. She joined ICSID in 2001, first as Legal Counsel and later as Senior Counsel, Team Leader and Deputy Secretary-General. She has published numerous papers on ICSID case law and practice and regularly speaks at conferences. One of her first academic works (1997) analysed the application of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts to precontractual liability in the event of failed negotiations. Before joining ICSID, she worked as an attorney with the law firms Jeantet & Associés, Paris, and White & Case LLP, Prague, focusing on international arbitration. Ms. Polasek holds degrees from The George Washington University Law School (LL.M.), University of Paris V – René Descartes (D.E.S.S.) and University of Gothenburg (Master of Laws). She is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C. She is fluent in Czech, Swedish, French, and English.