Following the precedent set by the World Bank when it created its Inspection Panel in 1993, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) passed its own inspection policy in December of 1995 establishing the Bank’s Inspection Function.
The Accountability Mechanism is a very important tool for communities affected adversely by ADB projects. Under international law the ADB, like other international financial institutions, has immunity from any legal jurisdiction, meaning that no legal action can be brought against the institution. As a result, the Accountability Mechanism is the only institutional platform through which project-affected people can raise their concerns with the ADB and have them evaluated by an independent and impartial body. The new Accountability Mechanism will take effect in November 2003.
In 2001, the ADB conducted its first inspection on the Samut Prakarn Wastewater Management Project in Thailand. It is likely that other cases were not inspected due to the difficulty of filing a request, such as the requirement that requests be submitted only in English and that complainants cite the specific ADB policies they believed the Bank had violated throughout the course of the project. The Samut Prakarn case revealed even more flaws in the mechanism. The most significant obstacle in this case was that the Inspection Panel was unable to visit the project site due to the Thai government’s objection. In addition, the inspection process proved cumbersome for the claimants and lacked transparency. It also failed to address the problems related to ADB policy violations raised by the inspection requesters. These concerns prompteda review of the mechanism in 2002-2003.
Information on How to File a Claim.