During his tenure, Dr. Shihata led the initiative to create the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and played a major role in the establishment of the World Bank Inspection Panel. He also chaired the task force that prepared the World Bank Guidelines on the Treatment of Foreign Direct Investment and provided the legal framework for the World Bank to enter new areas of development that had previously been considered off limits, such as stabilization loans and debt reduction operations.
In his role as Secretary-General of ICSID from 1983 until 2000, Dr. Shihata oversaw a 60% increase in membership, growing to 132 member countries. This growth corresponded with an extensive increase in the Centre’s caseload. Dr. Shihata also helped strengthen ICSID’s research and publications activities, notably by founding the ICSID Review-Foreign Investment Law Journal.
In addition to the significant role he played in the operations of the World Bank Group, Dr. Shihata was also a prolific author, having published numerous books and articles both prior to and during his time at the Bank Group. Many of his publications can be found in the World Bank Group’s Documents and Reports database, including:
- Towards a Greater Depoliticization of Investment Disputes: The Roles of ICSID and MIGA (1992)
- The World Bank Inspection Panel: In Practice (Revised edition, 2000)
- “Law and the Development Process”, Bank’s World, Vol. 9, No. 3, March 1990 (pp 12-14).
- “The World Bank and Human Rights”, Bank’s World, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 1988, (pp 12-15).
We also encourage you to view transcripts from interviews with Dr. Shihata that were conducted as part of the Archives’ oral history program. If you are interested in conducting further research, we invite you to visit the Archives Holdings website or submit a request for information through the Access to Information website.