Many civil society organizations have expressed concerns about the independence and transparency of the mechanism, the limited scope of its application, and its accessibility to affected communities were not addressed in the final document (see documents in Resources). Similar concerns expressed by former World Bank Inspection Panel members were also not addressed.
How to file a claim
Independent Recourse Mechanism, approved by the Board of Directors on April 29, 2003 (EBRD website)
Any group of two or more individuals with a common interest that is, or is likely to be, directly and adversely affected by a Bank-financed project may file a complaint. The complaint must be submitted in writing. There is no special format, but the complaint should:
- Identify the complainants. Complainants may ask that their identity be kept confidential, but anonymous complaints will not be accepted.
- Identify the project and the harm or potential harm resulting from the project.
- Indicate what steps the complainants have taken to resolve the matter and include copies of correspondence or other relevant materials.
- Indicate what steps the complainants would like the EBRD to take to address the adverse effects that have been or may be caused. In particular the complaint should, preferably, indicate whether the complainants are seeking a compliance review. If possible, the complaint should specify which of the EBRD’s policies or procedures may have been violated and what EBRD action, or failure to act when required, has caused such violation.
The complaint can be filed within a period of twelve months since the completion of the project or the final disbursement of funds.
All complaints should be addressed to the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO):
- Office of the Chief Compliance OfficerEBRDOne Exchange SquareLondon EC2A 2JN, United KingdomTel: +44 20 7338 6944, Fax: +44 20 7338 7633
Tracking the claim process
The approved IRM document contains some of the procedures and associated time frames. However, many of the steps in the process have no time frame associated with them. It is also unclear when or if the complainants will be informed of the status of the complaint during the process. The President, however, notifies the affected group in writing, if the compliance review or a problem-solving initiative is accepted or rejected. For more details please refer directly to the EBRD document. The Rules for Procedure and the Guidelines for the IRM are currently being developed by the EBRD. It is hoped that more detail will be included in these Rules and Guidelines.
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Time Frame |
Action Taken |
| Any Time |
Complaint filed by affected group. |
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Within 5 business days |
The CCO will register and acknowledge the complaint* and appoint one of the independent experts from the roster to assist in assessing the eligibility of the complaint. |
|
Within 15 business days of receipt |
Within 30 days the CCO and the appointed independent expert will assess if the complaint is eligible for further processing. If the complaint is found to be ineligible, the CCO shall make the reasoned recommendation available within the 15-day period. The complainants then have 10 business days to comment on the recommendation. |
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Within 30 business days of receipt |
The eligibility and compliance review assessment report, which includes a recommendation to either end the complaint process or conduct a compliance review, will be submitted to the President or the Board, depending on the status of the project. Recommendations for problem-solving initiatives, if applicable, will be provided in a separate report. |
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No time limit |
If the recommendation is to conduct a compliance review, an expert will be appointed and a compliance review undertaken "for as long as the expert considers necessary." |
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No time limit |
The expert reports his/her findings and recommendations to the President or the Board. After consideration by the President or Board, the complainants and any other involved party will be made aware of the report and any decisions taken as a result. The expert's report and the Bank's response will be made available to the public, but will be subject to maintaining the confidentiality of any commercially sensitive information. |
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No time limit |
If a project has not yet been approved by the Board but still moves forward for approval, the nature of the complaint and the actions taken by the IRM will be summarized in the Banking Operation Report. For Board-approved projects, the expert's report and President's decision will be circulated to the Board for information. | |
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*The complaint might not be registered if it is considered "manifestly frivolous or malicious" or the complainants have clearly made no previous good faith attempts to resolve the issue with the relevant Bank department.