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The Inspection Panel encourages the use and dissemination of its work. Please acknowledge the Inspection Panel as the source of information. For any questions regarding use and distribution of Panel reports, please contact the Panel Secretariat at:
1818 H Street NW Washington DC, 20433
USA
and/or
Tel: ++202-458-5200 Fax: ++202-522-0916
e-mail: ipanel@worldbank.org.
or
P.O. Box 27566 Washington, DC 20038
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Panel Process
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 The Inspection Panel is a three-member body created in 1993 to provide an independent forum to private citizens who believe that they or their interests have been or could be directly harmed by a project financed by the World Bank.1
The Panel's method of functioning is laid out in Operating Procedures developed by the Panel members to implement the resolutions of the Bank's board of executive directors (the Board) that created the Panel.2Â Because this is the first body of its kind to give voice to private citizens in an international context, the Panel's operational procedures and its operations need to be innovative and fluid.
Forty two formal requests have been received since Panel operations began in September 1994. The texts of Panel reports are publicly available.
| Who can file a request
At minimum, requesters must show in writing that:
- They live in the project area (or represent people who do) and are likely to be affected adversely by project activities.
- They believe that actual or likely harm results from failure by the Bank to follow its policies and procedures.
- Their concerns have been discussed with Bank management and they are not satisfied with the outcome.
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Detailed steps are explained in the Panel's Operating Procedures.
Suggested Format for a Request for Inspection
To: Executive Secretary, The Inspection Panel
1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Fax No. 202-522-0916; or c/o the appropriate World
Bank Country Office
1.We[insert names]Â live and/or represent others who live in the area known as[insert name of area]. Our addresses are attached.
2. We have suffered, or are likely to suffer, harm as a result of the World Bank's failures or omissions in the[insert name and/or brief description of the project or
program]Â located in>[insert location/country].
3.[Describe the damage or harm you are suffering or are likely to suffer from the project or program]Â ___________________________________________________________.
4.[List (if known) the World Bank's operational polices you believe have not been observed]Â ___________________________________________________________________________.
5.We have complained to World Bank staff on the following occasions[list dates]Â by[explain how the complaint was made]. We have received no response,[or]Â we have received a response and we are not satisfied that the explanations and answers solve our problems for the following reasons:___________________________________________________________.
6.We request the Inspection Panel recommend to the World Bank's Executive Directors that an
investigation of these matters be carried out.
Signatures:__________________________
Date: Â Â Â ________
Contact address, telephone number, fax number and email address: ______________________________________________________.
List of attachments
We[do/do not]Â authorize you to disclose our identities |  |
Processing Requests
Requests for Inspection are processed as follows:
- The Panel receives a request and decides whether the request is within its mandate.
- The Panel sends the request to Bank Management, who prepare a response to the allegations and submit it to the Panel.
- The Panel makes a preliminary review of the request, conducts and independent assessment of the merits of Bank Management's response to it, and recommends to the Board whether the claims should be investigated.
- If the Board approves a recommendation to investigate, the Panel proceeds with the investigation.
- When the Panel finishes an investigation, it sends its findings to the Board and to Bank Management.
- Bank Management then has six weeks to submit its recommendations to the Board on what actions the Bank should take in response to the Panel's findings.
- Based on the Panel's findings and Bank Management's recommendations, the Board takes the final decision on what should be done.
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1. References to the "World Bank" or "Bank" include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). 2. The Boards of the IBRD and IDA are responsible for overall policy and operations and are composed of representatives (Executive Directors) from both borrower and non-borrower countries with weighted voting power according to the level of their capital subscriptions. |
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