On September 6, 2002, the Assistant Secretary General of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (hereinafter referred to as ICSID), registered the request for arbitration filed under the protection of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between Governments and Nationals of Other Governments, (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”), by IBM World Trade Corporation, (hereinafter referred to as “IBM”), a company established under the laws of the State of New York, United States of America, against the Republic of Ecuador.