Review of IRM

2008 Review of the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM)

On 6 May 2009, the Board of Directors of the EBRD approved the adoption of Rules of Procedures for a new Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM). These new Rules will enter into force once the PCM Officer and at least three (3) PCM Experts have been appointed. Complaints registered under the Bank’s IRM prior to the entry into force of the PCM Rules will normally be dealt with in accordance with those rules.

Background

The current Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM), the EBRD’s accountability mechanism, was adopted by the EBRD Board of Directors on 29 April 2003 and began functioning on 1 July 2004.

The purpose of the IRM is to strengthen the Bank’s accountability and to increase the transparency of the Bank’s decisions in relation to its banking operations. The mechanism gives local groups, who may be directly and adversely affected by a Bank-financed project, a means of raising complaints or grievances with the Bank about the project. The IRM provides two functions:

(1) a compliance review function which assesses whether or not the Bank has complied with its policies, specifically its Environmental Policy and the project specific provisions of the Public Information Policy, in relation to a specific project, and

(2) a problem-solving function which aims to restore dialogue between the parties with a view to resolving the issues underlying the complaint or grievance.

The Bank is undertaking a review of its IRM in 2008 with the assistance of external IRM Review Consultant, Natalie Bridgeman. The IRM Review seeks to evaluate experience with the IRM to date and identify whether, and if so, how, the functions of the IRM can be made more effective.

IRM Review Status and Schedule

To date in the IRM Review process, public consultations have been held, comments have been solicited on the current IRM, and a Stakeholder Analysis and Research Period has been conducted.

The next steps in the IRM Review Process are as follows:

• Mid-December 2008
  Public Release of the First Draft of the Revised IRM Rules of Procedure  (0.1Mb)
  
  
• Mid-December 2008 - Mid-February 2009
  Public Consultation Period  (0.1Mb) on the Draft: Revised Rules of Procedure
  
  
• January 20 2009, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m
  Public Consultation in London at EBRD Headquarters on the First Draft of the Revised PCM Rules of Procedure
  
  
• March - April 2009
  Bank approval of Revised PCM Rules of Procedure
  

Questions and Comments on the IRM Review may be directed to IRM Review Consultant Natalie Bridgeman via email at natalie@ihrlaw.com.

The revised stakeholder consultation and disclosure plan  (0.1Mb)

is now available.