BIT

Achmea, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, BIT, CJEU, European Commission, European Law, European Union, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

The first half of the year has been a rollercoaster when it comes to BITs and ISDS, in particular in Europe. Several developments at various levels can be distinguished with one common denominator: for better or for worse, the European Union (EU) and EU law have become one of the key drivers in shaping international…

Achmea, BIT, ECJ, Europe, European Law, European Union, Intra-EU BITs, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Uncategorized

(Vavrovsky Heine Marth)/ /2 Comments

Over the past two months, the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Slovak Republic v Achmea BV, hereinafter referred to as “Achmea”, has created much discussion among arbitration practitioners. Its reasoning and implications have already been addressed in several Kluwer Arbitration blog posts, available here, here and here. The…

Achmea, Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, BIT, Enforcement, European Law, European Union, International arbitration, Intra-EU BITs, Investment Arbitration, New York Convention

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /Leave a comment

The world after the  Achmea v Slovakia decision focuses on the question about the future of ISDS in relation to intra-EU BITs. At the ASIL conference on the 6 April 2018, a representative of the EU observed the decision in the Achmea case as one that was perhaps a natural consequence of the intricacies of…

Arbitration, BIT, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Insurance, Investment Arbitration

(University of Strathclyde)/ /Leave a comment

After three high-value infrastructure and energy projects cases at ICSID and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Bosnia and Herzegovina (“BiH”) is now facing a new US$40 million investment treaty claim. This time it involves the privatization of an insurance company – Krajina osiguranje a.d. Banja Luka, based in the Republic of Srpska (one of the…

Austria, BIT, Canada, CETA, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, China-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Corporate Social Responsibility, India, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Norway, TPP

(Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre of UNSW Law)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

In the context of the backlash against investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS”), one of the main criticisms is the asymmetric nature of investment treaties, which impose numerous obligations on the States, but do not seem to hold corporations accountable for the social, environmental and economic consequences of their activities. Some recent developments reflect a redirection away…

Achmea, Arbitration, BIT, European Law, Investment Arbitration

(BSJP Brockhuis Jurczak Prusak Sroka Nilsson, Warsaw and Conway & Partners, Rotterdam)/ /Leave a comment

The CJEU judgement issued in the much-discussed (here and here) C-284/16 Slovak Republic vs. Achmea case has every chance of becoming a game changer in the field of the investment protection regime within the EU. Where does that leave the protection of investors within the EU? The message of the CJEU to those who welcomed…

Achmea, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, Brexit, CJEU, Investment Arbitration

, , (Signature Litigation)/ /Leave a comment

On 6 March 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU“) delivered its ruling in the case of Slovak Republic v Achmea (“Achmea“), holding that the investor-state arbitration provisions in a bilateral investment treaty (“BIT“) between the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic are invalid, as they are incompatible with EU law. In…

Arbitration, BIT, European Law, European Union, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Interviews with Our Editors, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

In the midst of challenges to the very legitimacy of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) celebrated its 50th anniversary and embarked on the fourth ICSID Rules amendment process in ICSID history. The previous amendment processes brought notable additions to the ICSID Rules, such as enhanced transparency in…

BIT, Fair and Equitable Treatment, Investment Arbitration, Public Policy, Switzerland

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court, in a rare appeal against an award in a bilateral investment treaty arbitration, confirmed its statutory restraint in reviewing arbitral awards pursuant to article 190 of the Private International Law Act (“PILA”) and rejected the host state’s request to set aside the award for violating substantive public policy. (Case 4A_157/2017,…

BIT, Investment Arbitration, ISDS

(University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law )/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

For many years, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), supported by thousands of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), has served as the main mechanism for deciding investment disputes. This controversial system permits affected investors to sue states for damages before arbitral panels on the grounds that their investments have been treated unfairly. For many commentators, the main problem…

Achmea, BIT, CJEU, European Union, Intra-EU BITs

(Reed Smith) and (Fieldfisher)/ /2 Comments
Linklaters

Introduction In a much anticipated judgment in Slovak Republic v. Achmea B.V. (Case C-284/16), the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled yesterday that the arbitration clause contained in Article 8 of the 1991 Netherlands-Slovakia BIT (the “BIT”) has an adverse effect on the autonomy of EU law, and is therefore incompatible with…

BIT, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Bottega Di Bella)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The two main reasons why countries generally agree to sign bilateral or multilateral investment treaties (BITs or MITs) are to attract foreign direct investments, while at the same time protecting their own citizens’ investments abroad by reducing political risk. Arguably, there might be multiple added values on top of these reasons for a specific…

Arbitral Tribunal, BIT, European Commission, European Union, Intra-EU BITs

(Macchi di Cellere Gangemi)/ /1 Comment

  The present analysis critically focuses on some aspects of the Opinion on the intra-EU BITs issued by AG Wathelet in the Achmea case (Case C-284/16) in September 2017. The Opinion has been extensively commented on in previously published posts on this blog. As such posts have noted, the AG’s position that intra-EU BITs are…

BIT, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, ISDS

/ /1 Comment
Schoenherr

Critics of the current investor-state arbitration regime may yet have their best days ahead of them. In the midst of tarnished FTA negotiations and in times of political uncertainty, they have captured a global audience. Their message is disconcerting: Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a system designed by and for multinational corporations. It allows faceless…

Arbitration, BIT, Energy Charter Treaty, Intra-EU BITs, Investment Arbitration, ISDS

(Lazareff Le Bars)/ /2 Comments

After the enlargement of the European Union in 2004, many eastern bloc countries acceded to the European Union. BITs entered into between the eastern bloc and the western bloc were transformed into the so-called “Intra-EU BITs”. The problems of Intra-EU BITs arose when the European Commission started its campaign against Intra-EU BITs, alleging their incompatibility…

BIT, Denunciation, Ecuador, ICSID Arbitration, Latin America, South America

(Locke Lord LLP)/ /Leave a comment

This post is the conclusion of a two-part publication regarding the situation of investors in Ecuador vis-á-vis the country’s efforts to elude the substantive and procedural protections afforded by investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The first part consisted of a review of the law applicable to entering and withdrawing from the International Centre for Settlement of…

Annulment, BIT, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Zimbabwe

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

Recently, it was reported that after 14 years since Zimbabwe had illegally evicted Dutch farmers from their farms, it finally agreed to pay the damages awarded under the ICSID award, which dates back in 2009. In the Funnekotter et al case, the arbitral tribunal rejected Zimbabwe’s necessity defence, which was based on the claimed need…

BIT, Denunciation, Ecuador, ICSID Arbitration, South America

(Locke Lord LLP)/ /Leave a comment

“BITs and arbitration centers, such as ICSID, are an expression of an unjust moral order”, said Ecuador’s former President, Rafael Correa, back in 2014. Such animadversion led the country to denounce all its bilateral investment treaties (BITs) earlier this year. The Latin American nation’s feud with BITs and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment…

Achmea, BIT, European Commission, European Law, European Union

(Omnia Strategy LLP)/ /Leave a comment

I. Introduction On 19 September 2017 the Advocate General (AG) to the Court of Justice to the European Union (CJEU) Melchior Wathelet delivered his long-awaited Opinion in Case C-284/16 Slowakische Republik v Achmea BV. As already explained in another post, Bundesgerichtshof (“German Federal Court of Justice”) requested a preliminary ruling from the CJEU on the…

BIT, Cambodia, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Sciences Po)/ /1 Comment

The year 1993 saw a significant political transition in Cambodia through the adoption of democratic principles and free market economy. Since then, many legal reforms have been made in order to attract foreign direct investment, and one of which is providing a legal framework for protecting the investment. To date, the Kingdom has signed a…

Anti-arbitration, Anti-suit injunction, BIT, India, Parallel Proceedings

(AnchayilKumar) and (JSA, Advocates & Solicitors)/ /Leave a comment

The long-standing tax dispute between India and the Vodafone, also previously discussed in here,  recently entered new territory when India secured an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining the continuation of one of two bilateral investment treaty (“BIT”) arbitration proceedings initiated against it by the Vodafone group. A judge of the Delhi High Court granted this injunction on…

BIT, Fair and Equitable Treatment, India

(VVGB Advocaten and European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA))/ /Leave a comment

These two-parts blog posts look into the ways that states can control the exercise of tribunals’ discretion and their implications. Of course, states can prevent unintended results from happening by simply adding more specific language to their new BITs. But what can they do with the existing treaties? Due process concerns Joint interpretative statements, as…

Arbitration, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Poland

(Kancelaria Adwokacka Adwokat Marcin Orecki)/ /Leave a comment

After a few declarations of intention to terminate BITs (see my previous post), Poland put words into actions. On 18 July 2017, the Polish Government submitted to the Sejm (the lower house of Polish Parliament) a draft law (“Draft Law”, available in Polish here) which empowers the Polish President to unilaterally terminate the Agreement on…

Argentina, Awards, BIT, foreign direct investment, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, Insurance, International arbitration, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, Jurisdiction, Political Risk Insurance

(Fangda Partners) and (CMS Hong Kong)/ /Leave a comment

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” (Anaïs Nin) Introduction and background On 12 July 2017, CMS Hong Kong and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) hosted the fourth joint lecture in their quarterly series focusing on the…