Accountability Matters

Newsletter | August 2026

In the August issue of Accountability Matters, we are pleased to present a video interview with Orsolya Székely, the first Head of the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). Orsolya played a central role in setting up the DRS, under the umbrella of the Accountability Mechanism, and completed her five-year term in July this year. We would like to thank her for her foundational contributions and wish her all the best. We also welcome Sabine Bernabè, who has been appointed Acting Head of DRS by the Board of the World Bank.

This issue, we feature a tête-à-tête between Scott Adams, Senior Dispute Resolution Officer with the DRS, and Tat Lim, who has worked as a Mediator with the DRS and the CAO, on power imbalances in mediation processes. We also cover a recent outreach event in Croatia and provide an update on the ongoing integration of the World Bank Group’s independent accountability mechanisms.

We would also like to acknowledge the departure of CAO Director General Janine Ferretti. We thank her for her many contributions to CAO and the independent accountability mechanism community at large. She provided steadfast leadership through a period of significant change, including CAO's policy review. We are grateful for her service and wish her every success in the future.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Accountability Matters. Please let us know if you have any comments or story ideas for the newsletter at accountability@worldbank.org or ipanel@worldbank.org.

Finally, do check our website and LinkedIn page for updates and coverage of the IAMnet Annual Meetings in October in Bangkok!

Ibrahim Pam                                                               Sabine Bernabè                                            

Chairperson, Inspection Panel                                  Acting Head, Dispute Resolution Service