The President of the Republic of Finland has appointed the Director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute, Associate Professor of International Law Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, conciliator to the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), upon nomination by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark was appointed together with Kimmo Kiljunen (conciliator), Erkki Kourula (arbitrator) and Jan Klabbers (alternate arbitrator) for a term of six years, beginning in 2019.
The court works with conciliation and arbitration as working methods for various intergovernmental disputes and provides a mechanism for peaceful settlement of disputes between States. The OSCE conciliation and arbitration proceedings have not yet been activated by any of the 33 States which have signed the Convention, but it remain an option for the peaceful settlement of disputes in Europe.
More information about recent appointments to the Court can be found here.
