ICSID Convention

Arbitration, Canada, Enforcement, ICSID Convention, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, NAFTA

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

As we approach the first anniversary of the UK Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of Dallah Estate and Tourism Holding Company v The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan, it is only fitting that we would encounter a case which would cause us to revisit the issue of the proper standard of…

Domestic Courts, ICSID Convention, Investment, Investment Arbitration

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

In August 2011, the tribunal in Abaclat and others v Argentina decided (by a majority) that it had jurisdiction over claims brought by approximately 60,000 Italian investors, and that the claims were admissible.1)Argentina has in the meantime requested the disqualification of the two arbitrators responsible for the decision and the proceedings are currently suspended. The…

BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration

(University of Michigan Law School)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

My previous post described years of apparently intractable debate between two opposing camps of international lawyers about what kinds of economic activity should get international investment protections. This post will explain how that dispute was settled for the purpose of ICSID jurisdiction, and with what legal result. As the dispute ground on throughout the final…

BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration

(University of Michigan Law School)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

My last post described the ongoing controversy about the proper scope of “investment” under Article 25 of the ICSID Convention. The next two posts will draw on my recent article to argue that this controversy should be resolved consistently with the historical understanding of the term. Far from incorporating the limitations exemplified by the Salini…

Arbitration Proceedings, Evidence, ICSID Convention, Sport arbitration, Switzerland

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE)/ /1 Comment

In its decision 4A_162/2011 of 20 July 2011, which was published on 2 September 2011, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court elaborated on the content of – and limits to – the right of parties to call witnesses. The arbitration which gave rise to the decision was between the Jamaica Football Federation and its former coach,…

ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

If you’ve been watching the headlines this month, you may have noticed that the United States of America has launched a novel arbitration against the Republic of Guatemala. The claim alleges that Guatemala is failing to enforce its own labour laws, thus falling afoul of international legal obligations written into the U.S. Free Trade Agreement…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Venezuela

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment

The four most recent ICSID disqualification decisions (Universal Compression v. Venezuela, OPIC Karimum v. Venezuela, Tidewater v. Venezuela and Urbaser v. Argentina) have unanimously rejected applications to disqualify arbitrators on ICSID tribunals.  This post addresses an issue raised in three of the most recent decisions—disqualification based on repeat appointments by the same party or counsel—and…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, ICSID Convention, Investment protection

(Perréard de Boccard)/ /Leave a comment

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is not foreign to defending investment claims. In order to restore investors’ confidence in its country, the Pakistani government has enacted on April 28, 2011 a law to secure foreign investment. The International Investment Disputes Act (the “Act”) has been qualified by the Pakistani president, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, as…

Annulment, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration

(New York Law School)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

This blog post ventures preliminary views on current critiques about ICSID annulments, and sketches out a few ideas that may merit further exploration. Some recent annulment decisions questioned ICSID awards but did not annul them because the high standard for annulment was not met. There are states and investors who now worry that should they…

Anti-suit injunction, Arbitration Awards, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /1 Comment

Today an Ecuador court fined Chevron $8.6 billion for environmental damage. According to the Wall Street Journal, $5.4 billion of that is to restore polluted soil, $1.4 billion to create a health system for the community, $800 million to treat individuals injured by the pollution, $600 million to restore polluted waters, $200 million to restore…

Canada, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, NAFTA, North America

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White & Case

Three different investors, with three different claims, in three different situations, have recently been in the news. All three disputes have a Canadian connection. Two involved claims by foreign investors against Canada, one that settled and one that Canada defeated. The third involves a claim by a Canadian investor against the Democratic Republic of Congo….

BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Not-for-profit organizations (NGO)

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent post, Lisa Bench Nieuwveld raised an issue which has been discussed from time to time on this blog: the potential for not-for-profit activities to be protected under international investment treaties. There is no doubt that not-for-profit organizations face a barrage of abuse and mistreatment at the hands of host countries, and that…

Canada, ICSID Convention

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White & Case

A significant majority of countries in the world have demonstrated that they see benefits in being a member of ICSID by ratifying the ICSID Convention (Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States). 144 states have ratified the treaty, and an additional 11 – including Canada – have signed…

Annulment, BIT, ICSID Convention

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

Earlier today, an ad-hoc annulment committee at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) completely annulled a 2007 arbitral award that had been rendered in favour of US energy company, Sempra Energy International. The striking development serves to nullify a US $128 Million (plus interest) award wherein a panel of ICSID arbitrators had…