The future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) was a key topic of discussion at several events during London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”). Two panels, in particular, explored how the ongoing legitimacy crisis in ISDS is being addressed through recent procedural and substantive reforms, and what these developments may signal for the system’s future. Three Crowns…
In recent years, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) mechanism has attracted widespread criticism from countries, practitioners and academics, which has been the subject of a vast amount of literature. UNCITRAL through Working Group III has been working on possible reforms of ISDS since 2017. During its 51st Session, UNCITRAL Working Group III agreed that the…
Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) has gone through significant changes over the years. Before arbitration became the principal mechanism for resolving investment disputes, options of foreign investors were limited to either initiating proceedings before national courts or relying on diplomatic protection. The dissatisfaction with both options, for reasons of a perceived lack of neutrality and sufficient…
2024 appeared to be one of the busiest years for investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) reform, with significant advances in the United Nations Commission on Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) Working Group III discussions and the adoption of the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). This post exclusively focuses on Working Group III’s key milestones in 2024 and relevant…
At Kluwer Arbitration Blog, December is the month to thank our readers and collaborators for their readership, contributions, and support. This is also the occasion to praise our excellent editors. In January 2025, Kluwer Arbitration Blog celebrates 16 years of existence. The Editorial Board of Blog expanded from two to over forty members, showcasing the…
On 4 August 2023, in an investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS) arbitration commenced against Australia on 29 March 2023 under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) Australia New Zealand Agreement for a Free Trade Area (“AANZFTA”), Singapore-incorporated Zeph filed an application for interim measures including an unusual request. Zeph sought an order that Australia’s “officers…
Since 2019, a multilateral instrument on investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) reform (“MIIR”) has been under discussion by UNCITRAL Working Group III (“WGIII”) as a potential mechanism for implementing a suite of reforms to ISDS. The MIIR is envisaged to serve as the framework by which States may apply various innovative features in their investment disputes….
The fifth edition of the Bucharest Arbitration Days (“BArD”) took place on 6 and 7 June 2024. It set out to highlight recent critical developments in international arbitration. The first day focused on commercial arbitration, and the second on investment arbitration. The general consensus? Mission accomplished. Seven panels and two keynotes reunited seasoned experts as…
As part of the 2024 Paris Arbitration Week (“PAW”), Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP hosted a webinar on “Amplifying the Voices of Developing States in ISDS Reform.” This was the third installment in the “Affaires d’Etats” series on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) initiated by Curtis during 2022 PAW. As the criticisms of ISDS intensify,…
The Regional Arbitral Institutes Forum (RAIF) held the 2023 edition of its annual conference on 10 November 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. RAIF consists of nine professional arbitration institutes across the Asia-Pacific region. It serves as both a platform to share knowledge and best practices, and an avenue for collaboration among members and delegates from 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…
The world has witnessed significant developments in the field of investment protection and dispute settlement in the past decades. This includes both investment treaty negotiations as well as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) practices. This field of law has also been subject of a heated debate and a desire for reform. In view of these developments,…
“Corporations have their own global private court system – called ISDS – which they use to bully governments. But many victims of corporate human rights abuses don’t have any way of winning justice. This is unfair. We need to end these corporate courts now! Rights for people, rules for corporations.” Letter from the Stop ISDS…
In May 2023, more than thirty members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to the Biden administration, arguing that “[l]arge corporations have weaponized [investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)] to benefit their own interests” and that “the broken ISDS system has time and time again worked in favor of big business interests.” This criticism against ISDS…
On March 31, 2023, the Dispute Resolution Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) hosted the session “Reforming Substantive Investment Law: How Should We Do It?” during the ASIL Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The event featured Donald McRae, Ladan Mehranvar, Amaia Rivas Kortazar and Sylvie Tabet, and was moderated by DRIG…
In the forest of reform deliberations at the UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS Reform), the development of a draft Code of Conduct for decision-makers in investment disputes (Draft Code) was considered a low-hanging fruit. WGIII delegates and commentators frequently used this metaphor to reflect on the consensus among the key stakeholders that the Code should…
With 17 minutes to spare before the end of the 45th Session, the chair of UNCITRAL Working Group III (WGIII), Mr Spelliscy, announced that a workable compromise had been reached on the last remaining outstanding issue (how to regulate double hatting) and that, therefore, an agreement was reached on a text of the Code of…
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…
As scholars and practitioners have reported in recent years, the investor-state reform process continues to make progress at the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The most recent session held in New York at the end of March yielded productive results. A new Special Issue of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (JIDS) provides…
In preparation for the 42nd session of the UNCITRAL Working Group III (“Working Group”) in February 2022, the UNCITRAL Secretariat issued a note on “Standing Multilateral Mechanism: Selection and Appointment of ISDS Tribunal Members and Related Matters” (“Note”), dated December 8, 2021. The Note builds on several Working Group reports that addressed the selection and appointment…
The European Commission has published the Trade and Investment pillar of the Advanced Framework Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Chile (the Agreement), as politically concluded. This seeks to modernise the EU-Chile Association Agreement. Undoubtedly, it represents a success for the EU, as it reinvigorates its trade and investment agenda, particularly in light of…
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 author presented on this topic at the ACICA/CIArb Future Frontiers Conference, held in Melbourne, Australia on 7 November 2022 during Australian Arbitration Week. This piece elaborates on the presentation that was delivered. In the last decade, as more states have refused to comply with arbitral awards, attempts have been made to seize the assets…
