In this blogpost I will explain why the European Union (“EU”) failed to meet its own constitutional requirements as set forth in Art. 21 of the Treaty on European Union (“TEU”) when it decided not to sign the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) text, which was recently adopted. As a starting point, I will use…
On 26 June 2024, 26 of the 27 EU Member States, along with the EU, signed a Declaration on the Legal Consequences of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) in Komstroy and a Common Understanding on the Non-applicability of Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty as a Basis for…
At the end of February 2024, the United Kingdom (“UK”)’s Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Graham Stuart announced his country’s decision to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). On 28 May 2024, the Energy Charter Secretariat revealed in a press release that the UK’s formal notification of withdrawal had already been received by…
The role of the United Kingdom (“UK”), particularly London, and of the European Union (“EU”) in the landscape of investment arbitration has been a central topic of discussions during the London International Dispute Week 2024 (“LIDW”). This post aims to provide a non-exhaustive account of some of the events which tackled this theme. On the…
2023 marked a milestone in the reform of investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”). In July 2023, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) Commission notably adopted the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution (“Code for Arbitrators”) and adopted in principle the Code of Conduct for Judges in International Investment Dispute…
Several EU member states have abandoned the modernization of the ECT and expressed their intention to withdraw from the ECT (see here). In February 2023, a Commission non-paper was leaked, which describes a coordinated withdrawal of the EU and its member states from the ECT as the ‘the most adequate option’. Such a coordinated withdrawal…
The modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has been debated among scholars, with some supporting it and others criticizing the process and outcome. The vote on the modernization was postponed indefinitely due to ongoing debates about the Treaty’s future, including various withdrawals from it. The modernization process encapsulates broader reform efforts and attempts to…
Much has been written already about the future of the Energy Charter Treaty (“the ECT”) – or perhaps lack thereof. Briefly, attempts to modernise the ECT began in earnest in 2017 with the aim of better aligning the treaty’s substantive provisions with its contracting parties’ climate law obligations. On 24 June 2022, those discussions culminated…
By the end of April 2023, observers of the ECT modernisation process may have felt as if they were waiting for Godot. The vote on the outcome of the ECT modernisation process, scheduled to take place at an ad hoc meeting of Energy Charter Conference at the end of April 2023, was postponed for the…
The defining challenge of the 21st century is undoubtedly climate change. There is consensus that we need to reduce the level of carbon emissions and abide by the scientific community’s directions to preserve our environment; we are beyond preventing harm – our current urgency is mitigation. We seem united in our common goal to meet…
2022 was strongly marked by the change and reform of institutions, treaties, and procedural rules relevant to investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). This post summarizes the most important institutional and structural reforms that were progressed during 2022 in relation to investment treaty law and ISDS. The focus is on the various reforms pursued under in the…
The Centre for International Law and Governance, University of Copenhagen, in cooperation with Hasselt University and Seven Summits Arbitration, recently hosted an expert roundtable on “The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) at a Crossroads”. The discussion, moderated by the three authors of this post, focused on the relationship between investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), investment protection, modernization…
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has long been subject to debate focusing on its perceived chilling effect on energy transition, the compatibility of intra‑EU disputes under the ECT with EU law, and the cost-efficiency of investment arbitration. On 24 June 2022, after five years of negotiations, the Energy Charter Conference Member States reached an agreement…
In November this year, the Energy Charter Conference will meet to adopt amendments to the ECT in accordance with the agreement in principle on the modernised ECT. However, the text of the modernised ECT has received much criticism in recent weeks (see e.g., here). Despite the fact that the modernised text of the ECT largely…
Seeing the Agreement in Principle on Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) “modernization” and its leaked full text, the “modernization” misnomer can safely be abandoned. The renegotiated ECT does not rise to the mounting global challenges regarding energy investment, climate action, and sustainable development. The ECT reform process missed the mark in nature, scope, ambition, and speed…
On 13 September 2022, the long-awaited text of the modernised Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was published. Still subject to final agreement, this is the text that reflects the Agreement in Principle reached by the parties to the Treaty in June this year after more than three years and 15 rounds of negotiations. Modernisation has several…
Negotiations towards a modernized Energy Charter Treaty (ECT, Treaty) ended on 24 June 2022, with the States Parties reaching an agreement in principle following discussions towards reform that began in November 2017. While the final text of the modernized Treaty has not yet been published, the Secretariat of the ECT in June issued a public…
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the two legal orders of on the one hand, international investment law (i.e., International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and investor-State arbitration provisions (ISDS)), and on the other hand, EU law, were peacefully co-existing next to each other with only occasional contact. Indeed, it was the time when the…
From 20-26 July last year, this Blog ran a series on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) modernisation process. The Energy Charter Conference (the Conference) had recently established a Modernisation Group (the Subgroup) to conduct the modernisation negotiations, and the series aimed to provide updates to readers on various aspects of that process. At the time…
On December 11, 2020, the Dispute Resolution Interest Group (“DRIG”) of the American Society of International Law (“ASIL”) hosted a webinar on “The Future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement under the Energy Charter Treaty.” The event featured Amaia Rivas Kortazar, André von Walter, Crina Baltag, and Yuriy Pochtovyk, and was moderated by DRIG co-chairs Simon Batifort…
Following a highly-publicized diplomatic battle among the EU Member States (MS), the EU revealed in mid-February its proposal to amend the ECT’s definition of the “Economic Activity in the Energy Sector” (EAES). The announcement allayed fears of the intra-EU discussions on the matter falling apart. Insofar as it sets forth a vision for amendments that…
On 3 December 2020, Belgium announced the submission of a request to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) for an opinion on whether the intra-European application of the arbitration provisions of the future modernised Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) are compatible with the EU Treaties. Belgium indicated that the purpose of its request…
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has recently become a household name, moving from the oblivion of the 1990s, when the treaty was drafted, to one of the most hotly debated topics in legal (and other) circles nowadays. Some have demonized it as an instrument for the corporate usurpation of democratic functions, such as the host…
The signatories of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) have begun the process of the Treaty’s modernisation. This is by no means a small task given the complexity of the Treaty’s scope which covers energy trading, efficiency, transit, investment protection and dispute resolution. Additionally, in order to amend it, all the signatories need to be on…
