Contract Interpretation

Contract Interpretation, Domestic law, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Sovereignty

(Hasselt University, KU Leuven)/ /Leave a comment

Balancing the concurrent rights of sovereign states to regulate in their interest and of foreign investors to be afforded certain standards of protection when investing in a foreign jurisdiction often leads to complex questions in investment arbitration claims. One uncommon, but not entirely novel issue, which was again brought to light in Iskandar Safa and…

Arbitration, Contract Drafting, Contract Interpretation, ESG, Insurance, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, ISDS, Litigation, Remedies, Third party funding

, (Fieldfisher)/ /Leave a comment

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations have evolved from idealistic frameworks into binding legal, financial and reputational imperatives and responsibilities. Increasingly, international arbitration must grapple with the complex and often competing, or at times contradictory, demands that ESG compliance places on states, corporations and dispute resolution mechanisms. As set out below against an 80s soundtrack…

Commercial Arbitration, Contract Interpretation, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, Treaty, Treaty Interpretation

(University Paris Est Créteil, France)/ /Leave a comment

Dealing with parallel arbitrations can be very difficult, as it is caught between two conflicting constraints: on the one hand, the need to avoid any denial of justice and, on the other hand, the need to avoid two tribunals dealing with the same issue. This problem sometimes arises in treaty-based investment arbitration, particularly when the…

Arbitration clause, Arbitration institution, China, Chinese Arbitration Law, Contract Interpretation, Hong Kong, Singapore

(Family Dispute Resolution Centre (Te Pokapū Whakatau Tautohe ā Whānau))/ /Leave a comment

In January 2023, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance in Grand Ocean & Williams Co Limited v. Huaxicun Offshore Engineering Co Ltd (江苏华西村海洋工程服务有限公司) [2023] HKCFI 86 (“Grand Ocean”) held that an arbitration clause, governed by the laws of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), was void and incapable of being performed on the basis…

Arbitration, Contract Drafting, Contract Interpretation

(University of Oslo)/ /Leave a comment

On 27 June 2023, a pilot project on contract construction in international arbitration was presented and discussed at the Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Aston University. The project explores to what extent international arbitration ensures that contracts are construed in an autonomous, uniform way. The short answer is: only to a small extent. Admittedly, contracts are…