15 February 2022

H.E. Ambassador Marcin Czepelak Elected as PCA Secretary-General

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) is pleased to announce the election of H.E. Ambassador Marcin Czepelak as Secretary-General. Mr. Czepelak will take office on 1 June 2022 for a term of five years.

Mr. Czepelak, who is a national of the Republic of Poland, was elected by a majority of the Contracting Parties present and voting at the 206th meeting of the PCA Administrative Council held on 14 February 2022 at the PCA’s headquarters at the Peace Palace in The Hague. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Administrative Council, voting occurred by secret ballot. Mr. Czepelak was elected out of three candidates, nominated by the Contracting Parties of the PCA. A fourth nomination had been withdrawn prior to the election.

Mr. Czepelak is currently ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He has represented the Republic of Poland at various international fora, including the Committee on the Election of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Working Group on the Rules of Procedure of The Hague Conference on Private International Law, and the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Czepelak has been a professor of private international law at Jagiellonian University in Kraków since 2007. He completed his habilitation and doctorate at Jagiellonian University and has published widely in the fields of private international law, international litigation, and arbitration.

Mr. Czepelak will succeed Mr. Hugo Hans Siblesz, whose term as Secretary-General ends on 31 May 2022. Mr. Siblesz has served as Secretary-General since 2012.

The Secretary-General is the head of the PCA’s International Bureau, composed of over 60 professionals holding 37 different nationalities, who work from the PCA’s headquarters in the Netherlands and its offices in Argentina, Mauritius and Singapore. The Secretary-General also represents the PCA externally, including in international settings. In addition, the PCA Secretary-General fulfils functions vested in the Secretary-General under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and various national laws pertaining to arbitration. The PCA Secretary-General has been designated as appointing authority in numerous international treaties and contracts and may be called upon to act in that capacity by ad hoc agreement of the disputing parties.

Background on the Permanent Court of Arbitration

The Permanent Court of Arbitration is an intergovernmental organization established by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. The PCA has 122 Contracting Parties. Headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, the PCA facilitates arbitration, conciliation, fact-finding, and other dispute resolution proceedings among various combinations of States, State entities, intergovernmental organizations, and private parties. The PCA’s International Bureau is currently administering 5 interstate disputes, 107 investor-State arbitrations, and 69 cases arising under contracts involving a State or other public entity. More information about the PCA can be found at www.pca-cpa.org.

 

Contact:           Permanent Court of Arbitration

E-mail: [email protected]