Abstract: During the last decade great advances were made in the field of arbitration in Latin America. Several countries of the region have even recognized the importance of using arbitration in foreign investment conflicts. Such evolution had an immediate impact in the ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) system of arbitration, an autonomous institution created in 1966 by the World Bank, under the Washington Convention, which has already been ratified by 140 countries. The provisions of the Washington Convention as well as the ICSID internal structure aim to keep a balance between the interests of foreign investors and those of the countries that receive investments. They set forth, for instance, a prima facie control of the ICSID General Secretary of the existence of an arbitration clause and the arbitrability of the dispute brought before the institution, the requirement of an express consent of both parties to arbitration, some limits regarding the dispute nature and the parties involved. The growing ratification of the Convention, as well as the multiplication of clauses making reference to the ICSID rules in contracts, laws on investment, and bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, show the trust that numerous exporting and importing countries have in the ICSID system and objectives. ICSID arbitral tribunals have already started to produce a certain case-law. However, there still are several pending cases related to complex issues, which may have considerable repercussions in Latin America. It has, thus, became indispensable not only to governments, but also to investments and the Latin-American legal community in general to get familiarized with the ICSID disputes settlement system.