ISDS Reform

Arbitration, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Dispute Settlement, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, International Arbitration Procedures, International Mediation, Interview, Interviews with Our Editors, Investment Arbitration, ISDS Reform, Multilateral Investment Court

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Alejandro, thank you for joining us on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog! We are delighted to have the opportunity to interview you at a time when the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and its modernisation are on the spotlight. Alejandro is the current General Counsel and Head of the Conflict Resolution Centre at the ECT Secretariat, which…

ISDS Reform, Workshop

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On the 1 October 2019, the Europa-Institut of Saarland University and the International Investment Centre Cologne (IILCC) co-organized a workshop on the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform and the creation of a Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). At the event, the IILCC Study Group presented its preliminary conclusions regarding a comparative report on the Multilateral…

Business and Human Rights Arbitration, Human Rights, ISDS Reform, Transparency

(Durham Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Introducing the Rules Playing its part in the twenty-first century movement to protect human rights, the international legal community has taken a significant step forward by providing for a framework to resolve business and human rights disputes by arbitration. Lead by the former ICJ justice, Judge Bruno Simma, The Hague Rules on Business and Human…

Achmea, Arbitration Awards, Foreign Investment Law, ICSID Convention, International Humanitarian Law, International Investment Arbitration, International Law, International Law Weekend, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

, (Dechert), (Dentons US LLP), (Dentons), and (McDermott Will & Emery)/ /Leave a comment

The 98th Annual Meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association (“ABILA”), known as ABILA’s International Law Weekend (“ILW”), took place in New York City on 10 – 12 October 2019. ILW, ABILA’s premiere annual event, featured 35 panels covering a broad range of topics of international law.1)The summary of the views expressed…

Counsel, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS Reform, Surveys

(School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)) and , (School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) )/ /Leave a comment

Last week QMUL, in partnership with the Corporate Counsel International Arbitration Group (“CCIAG”), launched its first ever survey focusing exclusively on international investment. This is the tenth major empirical International Arbitration survey conducted by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London. A link to the survey can be found here. The…

International Investment Arbitration, International Law, International tribunals, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Transparency, Treaty, Treaty Interpretation, VCLT, VCLT Jubilee, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(Australian National University) and (University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

The growing public interest in investment treaties and investor-State dispute settlement has prompted an increasing number of States to open to public view aspects of investment treaty negotiations. During the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (‘TTIP’), for example, both the European Union and the United States sought to ‘maximise’ transparency in the…

ISDS, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL, Working Group III

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UNCITRAL’s Working Group III on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) assembled in Vienna last week to consider a raft of reforms concerning investment arbitration. The fifth session in this process, governments surprised many by finalising quickly a medium-term work plan and commencing deliberations with a pragmatism that has proved often elusive. To be sure, not all…

Advisory Centre, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Working Group III

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In his post of 30 August 2019, Pablo Pérez-Salido discussed the proposal at UNCITRAL’s Working Group III for the establishment of an Advisory Centre on International Investment Law (ACIIL). This post seeks to make a case for such an Advisory Centre.1)This post is based on Karl P. Sauvant, “An Advisory Centre on International Investment Law:…

Advisory Centre, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL, Working Group III

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Introduction There are parallel initiatives currently considering a potential reform of the international Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) system. Particularly, the work presently taking place at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) by its Working Group III (WGIII) is one of the forums that continues to attract attention as we get closer to…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL

(Stockholm University) and / /Leave a comment

Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system has become the focus of various initiatives of different international organizations and groups in the past years. Currently, there are various developments taking place at various levels of the ISDS system. For example, (i) the new generation of international investment treaties—in particular, the new Free Trade Agreements signed…

Amparo, Commercial Arbitration, ISDS Reform, Latin America, Mexico, USMCA

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

The seminar “International Arbitration in Mexico – Latest Developments” took place on March 21, 2019 in New York City (the “Seminar”). International and Mexican practitioners gathered to discuss issues such as the relevant investment climate in Mexico, policy changes from the current administration, as well as, relevant developments in commercial arbitration in the country. Donald…

Australia, BIT, Indonesia, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, ISDS, ISDS Reform

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The signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (“IACEPA“) on 4 March 2019 marked an important milestone for both States (as covered in a post earlier this week). Given that both Indonesia and Australia have their reservations on investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“) processes, it is interesting to see that the IACEPA contains a chapter…

Attribution, Australia, BIT, Indonesia, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Australian National University)/ /3 Comments

Last month, Australia and Indonesia signed the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (‘IA-CEPA’), containing in Chapter 14 provisions related to the protection of foreign investments. Negotiations of an IA-CEPA were initially announced in 2010, and formally began in September 2012. The negotiations were thereafter suspended, but relaunched in March 2016. Signature and ratification of the…

Hong Kong, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

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

The year of the pig was off to a good start in Hong Kong at the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform Conference organised by the Hong Kong Department of Justice and the Asian Academy of International Law on 13 February 2019. Like the fabled pig, ISDS reform has been slow in coming, and the aim…

Investment, Investment protection, Investor, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction In their Fourth Turning Theory, Howe and Strauss put forward the thesis that every cycle in Anglo-American history had concluded with a great crisis, a fourth turning, from which a new order with a new set of beliefs had emerged. According to their predictions, a new crisis should have started sometime around 2005 and…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

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Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)

At the heart of the debate surrounding Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform is UNCITRAL Working Group (WG) III.  Until two years ago, WG III was dedicated to discussing issues surrounding online dispute resolution.  But in 2017, in response to several significant awards against states in investment arbitration and corresponding public outcry, the WG III was…

Arbitration, BIT, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Multilateral Investment Court

, (Hanotiau & van den Berg)/ /Leave a comment

On 22 November 2018, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation hosted a High Level Event on the Reform of Investment Protection. Distinguished panellists from arbitral institutions, international organisations, academia, civil society, arbitration users and legal practitioners presented diverse views on the need for reform of the system of investor-State dispute…

2018 In Review, Arbitration, Australia, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform, New Zealand

(Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

Last year was a busy one for arbitration practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and 2019 looks set to be even busier. In 2018, both countries initiated a range of arbitration reforms, initiatives and negotiations which give insights into the likely general direction of travel for both countries in the coming year. This post focusses…

2018 In Review, Achmea, Europe, European Commission, International Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU BITs, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS Reform

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Very rarely would a single arbitration-related decision produce as significant an impact as the judgment of the Court of Justice of European Union (“EU” and “CJEU” respectively) in the Achmea case did during 2018. We should not doubt that Achmea will remain a cornerstone issue in the world of arbitration for a long period of…

Belt Road Initiative, BIT, China, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China)/ /Leave a comment

In 2013, China proposed to jointly build the “Belt and Road” Initiative. While the international investment agreements (“IIAs”) proposed to be concluded with China and its counterparties along the “Belt and Road” will provide a robust source of potential investor protections, they must be easily understood among investors, states, and international tribunals. IIAs, as the…

Achmea, CETA, Intra-EU BITs, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

While the jury is still out on whether winter is coming or has already arrived regarding ISDS and investment treaties, I would rather turn to agriculture and use the metaphor of sowing the seeds and harvesting. Since July 2010, when the European Commission published its very first Communication on ISDS and investment treaties, it has…

Arbitration institution, Efficiency, ISDS, ISDS Reform, KCAB, South Korea

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Last month, Seoul was once again brimming with eminent arbitrators and arbitration counsel, and leading alternate dispute resolution practitioners from around the world who had come to attend the Seoul ADR Festival 2018 – a much sought-after yearly event which has grown remarkably in scope and significance since it was first organized in 2015.1)This article…

BIT, ICSID, Investment Arbitration, ISDS Reform, Latin America, USMCA

(Concepción Global, PLLC, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)/ /Leave a comment

The CERSA (CNRS-University Paris II Pantheon-Assas) organises a series of seminars on select topics in international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The purpose of these seminars is to discuss and debate such topics bringing together academics, practitioners and policymakers in a small international group in Paris. The conference about Topical issues in ISDS: Latin…

Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

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The 8th edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills – SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture, jointly organised with the Centre for Cross-border Commercial Law at the Singapore Management University, took place on 18 October 2018. The distinguished event, graced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, hosted a panel comprising: Sir Christopher Greenwood, DAG Lionel Yee, Judith Gill QC…