The Inspection Panel and Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) have updated their Operating Procedures to reflect the changes to the structure of the World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM) approved by the Board of Executive Directors earlier this year.

The Board’s Committee on Development Effectiveness endorsed the updated Operating Procedures, which detail the process that follows the submission of a Request for Inspection by communities that believe they have been, or are likely to be, harmed by a World Bank-funded project.

The Panel’s updated Operating Procedures can be found here. The new DRS Operating Procedures, which supersede the AM Operating Procedures issued in December 2022, can be accessed here.

The organizational changes approved by the Board on January 8, 2025, enabled the Panel and DRS to operate as two parallel entities of the AM, each independently reporting to the Board, and created a new position of Executive Secretary to support both units and work under the direct supervision of both the Panel Chair and the Head of the DRS. The approved changes followed a report by an external review team appointed by the Board to explore options to improve the World Bank’s accountability process.

On March 7, 2025, the Board approved The World Bank Accountability Mechanism: Inspection Panel and Dispute Resolution Service, a resolution that sets forth the role and functions of the Panel and DRS. The consolidated resolution superseded separate AM and Panel resolutions approved by the Board in 2020.