BIT

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Enforcement, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration

(De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek) and (Georgetown University Law Center)/ /Leave a comment

On 5 May 2020, 23 Member States of the European Union (“EU”) signed an Agreement for the Termination of all Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties (“Agreement”). Following ratification by the Kingdom of Denmark (6 May 2020) and Hungary (30 July 2020), the Agreement entered into force on 29 August 2020 (Article 16). The Agreement comes in…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitrators, BIT, International arbitration, Interpretation, Investment Arbitration

and (University of Naples "Federico II")/ /Leave a comment

On 15 July 2020, an UNCITRAL Tribunal rendered a Partial Award on Jurisdiction in a dispute between Mr. Lee-Chin ­­and the Dominican Republic (DR) concerning the alleged expropriation of a landfill in Santo Domingo. The arbitrators had to decide whether the arbitration clause – enshrined in Article XIII, Annex III, of the Caribbean Community-Dominican Republic…

Africa, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Investor duties

, (Addis Law Group LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Africa is in the vanguard of investor obligations in international investment law. As it prepares to seek a continental investment code for the second time, it finds itself at a crossroads. In tracing the emergence and trajectory of investment instruments toward the historic juncture to which Africa presently arrives, one glimpses the promise of a…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Investment Arbitration

(School of Law, University of Westminster)/ /Leave a comment

Chinese involvement in 5G infrastructure development has been an issue of concern for policy makers globally. This post addresses the question of whether the Chinese multinational Huawei would have an investment claim against the German government were they to prohibit its participation in 5G deployment. Germany is selected as a case study due to the…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Investment Arbitration

(Bottega Di Bella)/ /Leave a comment

This post examines an illustrative case of a successful diplomatic protection claim under an old Bilateral Convention of Establishment (BCE). These were early precursors to Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), which aimed to encourage and protect foreign investments. While revisiting Switzerland’s unlawful expropriation of Italian-owned real estates, the post proposes an alternative solution to that case…

Appointment of arbitrators, BIT, Dutch Model BIT, foreign direct investment, ISDS, Party autonomy, Sustainability

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /Leave a comment

On 22 March 2019, the Dutch Government released the text of the new model Netherlands BIT. Its idealism has been applauded: the new model prioritizes gender and regional diversity as well as the United Nations sustainability goals. Yet, what would the effect be of some of the model’s provisions on Foreign Direct Investment (‘FDI’)? For…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, BIT, Counterclaims, Enforcement, Investment Arbitration, Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series

(Macchi di Cellere Gangemi)/ /Leave a comment

A cursory reading of the mandate of Working Group III reveals that the discussion at UNCITRAL of ISDS (Investor-State Dispute Settlement) reform focuses only on procedural aspects of dispute settlement under investment treaties and excludes any substantive aspects. However, the topic of respondent states’ counterclaims, albeit procedural in itself, is so inextricably intertwined with substantive…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Frivolous Claims, Investment Arbitration, Reform, Security for Costs, UNCITRAL WG III Series, Working Group III

, (Roschier Attorneys, Ltd.)/ /Leave a comment

Ahead of the thirty-ninth session of UNCITRAL Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform), the General Assembly Secretariat issued a note on issues to be considered on the topic of security for costs and frivolous claims. Averting frivolous claims has been a recurring topic in the ISDS debate over the past years, not least in…

Appellate Court, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, Working Group III

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /1 Comment

One of the topics on the agenda of UNCITRAL Working Group III is the establishment of an Appellate Court system. The system of investor-State dispute resolution therefore now faces the fact that WG III is considering, among other matters, the following: the repeal of local law governing the setting aside of an UNCITRAL award giving…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, Working Group III

(The Chinese University of Hong Kong)/ /2 Comments

Arbitrators under the Crossfire While investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) was created with the purported goal of depoliticizing investment disputes, it is currently at the centre of heated political debates. Investment arbitration follows the commercial arbitration paradigm, with disputing parties playing a direct role in the composition of the tribunal. This is perceived as a tool…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, Working Group III

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During its last resumed 38th session which took place in Vienna from 20–24 January 2020 the UNCITRAL Working Group III discussed in parallel three reform alternatives, based on the notes prepared by the Secretariat. These alternatives suggested the creation of: (i) a stand-alone review or appellate mechanism; (ii) a standing multilateral investment court (MIC); and/or…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, Working Group III

(Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

Next week was due to be the 39th session of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Working Group III, and its sixth session considering the issue of reform to investor-State dispute settlement (‘ISDS’). The session has since been postponed indefinitely, in light of the current global COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of Working…

BIT, Brazil, India

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Young ICCA

On 25 January 2020, India and Brazil signed an Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty, in the presence of the Brazilian president Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Arguably the most prominent of the 3 BITs that India has signed since adopting the model BIT in December 2015. The new treaty articulates several provisions (briefly discussed below) in departure…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration Agreements, BIT, India

(Jindal Global Law School)/ /1 Comment

During the recent visit of Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, to India, Brazil and India inked the investment cooperation and facilitation treaty (hereinafter bilateral investment treaty – BIT). From Brazil’s point of view, this BIT is an extension of a novel approach to foreign investment in international law based on investment facilitation and cooperation, not investment protection…

BIT, Climate change, International agreement, Investor-State arbitration, Sustainable economy

, (Clyde & Co LLP)/ /Leave a comment

UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the COP25 climate change conference on 2 December 2019 saying that: “…At current trends, we are looking at global heating of between 3.4 and 3.9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The impact on all life on the planet – including ours – will be catastrophic. The only…

Africa, BIT, Emerging Market Economies, ISDS, South-South Cooperation

(University of Arkansas School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction   In a 2015 publication Investment Policies and Bilateral Investment Treaties in Africa: Implications for Regional Integration, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa opined that for countries in Africa: “[o]pportunities for signing BITs with non-African partners have largely been exhausted because new southern partners such as China and India prefer other modalities for…

Achmea, Arbitration, BIT, European Law, International arbitration, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, Sunset clauses

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

On 24 October 2019, the European Commission announced that the EU Member States have reached agreement on a plurilateral treaty for the termination of all ca. 190 intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The agreement follows the political Declarations of the Member States issued in January this year in which they explained the consequences they are…

Bank resolution, BIT, European Union, Investment Arbitration, Mexico, Spain

(Shearman & Sterling LLP) and (University of Luxembourg)/ /Leave a comment

Background In early June 2017, Banco Popular Español S.A. (‘Popular’) was placed into resolution under the European Union’s (‘EU’) Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (‘BRRD’) and the Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (‘SRMR’). It was the first – and only, to this day –case where the Single Resolution Board (‘SRB’), as the European resolution authority, intervened…

Arbitration, BIT, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Micula, Romania

(Omnia Strategy LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction With less than a month to go before the latest EU-UK divorce date, the UK Supreme Court resumed its hearing in Micula et al. v Romania 2018/0177, relating to the enforcement of the widely discussed ICSID award against Romania. With the UK grappling with its future relationship with the EU, it is interesting timing…

BIT, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Human Rights, Investment agreements

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Ever since its inception, investment arbitration has benefited from a perception of self-contained ecosystem that does not interact with any other normative subject matter. Investor-State tribunals for the most part have been reluctant to accommodate the application of non-investment obligations and treaties, claiming either lack of jurisdiction over such claims, or affirming upfront that non-investment…

BIT, Chile, Free Trade Agreements, Investment protection, Investment Treaties

and (King & Spalding)/ /Leave a comment

Chile is one of the most dynamic states in Latin America.  The World Bank has observed that “Chile has been one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades”.  And foreign direct investment has increased significantly in recent years.  As investment interest in Chile grows, it is important for both investors and international law practitioners…

Africa, Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, ICSID, ICSID Proceedings, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Tanzania

(Equanimity Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

In September 2018, Tanzania took the international arbitration community by surprise when it issued its notice of its intent to terminate the Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between Tanzania and the Netherlands which was set to expire on 1 April 2019 (Netherlands BIT). Article 14 (2) of the Netherlands BIT provides that…

BIT, Corporate Social Responsibility, Investment agreements, Investor-State arbitration

(Nyenrode Business University)/ /Leave a comment

The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining momentum in international investment law. States continue to include the CSR provisions in their newest international investment agreements (IIAs). In addition to typical CSR clauses directed at states to encourage investors to incorporate the internationally recognized standards on CSR (e.g. Argentina –Japan BIT (2018); the Australia-Hong…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Enforcement, Gender equality, Human Rights, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Netherlands draft model BIT

(Columbia Law School) and (De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek)/ /1 Comment

On 22 March 2019, the Netherlands published its new model BIT (“2019 Dutch Model BIT”). The new model text may well set the scene for a new generation of investment treaties, paving the way with progressive rules on sustainable development and gender empowerment. The 2019 Dutch Model BIT is a refined version of the initial…