Investment agreements

BIT, Colombia, International dispute resolution, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment agreements, Investment protection, Latin America, Venezuela

(Sciences Po Law School - Paris)/ /Leave a comment

On 3 February 2023, Colombia and Venezuela entered into an Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (“Treaty”), with the objective of “incrementing the flow of transborder direct investment.” Both states are still to complete the ratification procedure for the Treaty to enter into force. This is an interesting development, especially considering the…

Chile, European Commission, European Union, Investment agreements, ISDS Reform

(King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

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…

International Investment Law, International Law, International tribunals, Interpretation, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, VCLT, VCLT Jubilee

, (Permanent Court of Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

In the last two decades, the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) overall docket has seen a rapid growth in mixed arbitrations between States and private parties. Today, over 180 arbitrations are currently pending before PCA tribunals, of which more than 100 are investor-State disputes brought under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties and national investment laws….

China, EU Law, European Union, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties

, , (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), agreed in principle in December 2020, was announced with great fanfare. Forged after seven years of negotiations between the world’s current largest trading block (the EU) and the country expected to have the world’s largest economy by the end of this decade (China), the CAI was set to…

Canada, Investment agreements, Investment Treaties, ISDS Reform, Model BIT

(Woods LLP) and (Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

On May 13, 2021, after several years of public consultations, Global Affairs Canada released a new Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement Model (“2021 Model”). The prior iteration of the FIPA Model was broadly understood to have been influenced by Canada’s experience under the NAFTA regime. Similarly, the 2021 Model benefits from Canada’s continued trade…

Achmea, CJEU, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment agreements

(ESSEC Business School, Paris; Queritius)/ /Leave a comment

Many have long feared that the end of intra-EU BIT arbitration brought about by Achmea would soon be followed by the end of contract-based intra-EU ISDS. Although Advocate General (AG) Kokott’s recent Opinion in Case C-109/20 Poland v. PL Holdings allows for a glimmer of hope for non-treaty-based investment disputes, a closer reading of the…

Egypt, International arbitration, Investment agreements, ISDS, Nationality

(Riad & Riad; Cairo University School of Law)/ /1 Comment

Egypt has been trying to control the number of investor-state arbitration disputes which has been steeply increasing since 2011 and the Arab Spring movement (see past discussion on the Blog here). To that end, Egypt created alternative out-of-court forums for amicable settlement of existing arbitration cases and worked toward curbing the eruption of new cases…

foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Treaties, Japan, VCLT, WTO

(Nagoya University)/ /Leave a comment
Academic Council, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The years since 2017 have witnessed a global trend of tightening foreign direct investment (FDI) screening processes. Major economies, including the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have moved towards stricter FDI rules. In all of these cases, security concerns and, in particular, the need to protect cutting-edge technologies against…

Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Non-Disputing Parties

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On 27 February 2020, Canada availed itself of the opportunity provided by Article 827(2) Canada-Colombia FTA (“FTA”) to make a non-disputing party submission 1)Accessing the link requires a subscription.(“NDPS”) in Eco Oro Minerals v Colombia. The case concerns issues arising out of a mining restriction imposed to establish an environmental conservation zone. It was initiated…

Investment agreements, Investment Treaties, Reform, State-State Dispute Settlement, State-to-state arbitration, Trade and investment agreements, Trans-Pacific Partnership, USMCA

(Australian National University) and (Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Throughout this week, our contributors from around the globe have offered insights into the USMCA/CUSMA/T-MEC, which enters into force next week. Our contributors have contextualised USMCA against both regional and global developments. Many of them noted the link between USMCA and NAFTA, between USMCA and regional politics, and between USMCA and broader global trends related…

Financial Services Arbitration, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, NAFTA, Trade and investment agreements, USMCA

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As North America embarks into a post-NAFTA era with the USMCA, it is crucial to analyze the new agreement’s disciplines. The USMCA Investment Chapter, for instance, has been the subject of many articles that have reviewed relevant differences with respect to NAFTA, particularly on investment arbitration. This post will explore the arbitration rules applicable to investment disputes…

Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, United States, USMCA

(Jenner & Block LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The Investment Chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement “USMCA,” Chapter 14 has had a controversial trajectory.  Chapter 14 reflects a remarkable evolution in United States (“U.S.”) policy on the protection of its investors and their investments in Canada and Mexico.  It is remarkable because – from 2023 – it will limit the scope of protected…

Canada, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, USMCA

(De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek) and (Three Crowns LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Amid global economic uncertainty, the years-long project of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) (also known as “the new-NAFTA” or “NAFTA 2.0”) has finally reached fruition. On March 13, 2020, Canada became the final North American party to ratify the agreement and now the treaty will enter into force on July 1, 2020. Kluwer Arbitration Blog has…

Canada, International agreement, International arbitration, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Mexico, NAFTA, United States, USMCA

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School) and (Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

On July 1, 2020, the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enter into force. Although the media widely refers to the treaty by its American name, USMCA, it also carries two other names: Canada has adopted it as the Canada – United States – Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), while Mexico has settled on…

Arbitration, India, Investment agreements, Investment law, Investment Treaties, Reform

and (Columbia Law School)/ /Leave a comment

On 25 January 2020, India and Brazil signed an investment agreement  (the “India-Brazil BIT”). As an agreement that has been signed at the dawn of the new decade, it is symbolic for a few reasons. First, it is a south-south agreement between two large and growing economies. Second, it abandons investor-state arbitration in favor of…

2019 In Review, Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights, Investment agreements

(Georgetown Law)/ /1 Comment

Several developments in 2019 highlighted the increased presence of human rights considerations in international investment law. As described by our contributors, however, tensions persist. The 2019 Netherlands Model Agreement, released in March, represented a notably progressive approach to reflecting human rights considerations in foreign investment, as explained by our contributors. This development builds on related…

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…

International arbitration, International Law, International tribunals, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, VCLT, VCLT Jubilee, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(Proxenia Legal)/ /Leave a comment

The Vienna Convention rules for treaty interpretation (VCLT) routinely referred to by all international courts and tribunals are known to be the result of a compromise between different schools of interpretation and therefore notoriously flexible, in my view too flexible for the purposes of modern-day international dispute resolution. Cases are therefore won and lost according…

ICSID Arbitration, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, VCLT, VCLT Jubilee, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(Tribe Arbitration and St Mary's University)/ /2 Comments

It is well settled in the practice of ICSID tribunals that the general rule of treaty interpretation embodied in Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“Vienna Convention”) applies to the interpretation of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“ICSID Convention”). While…

Decision Making, ICSID Arbitration, International Law, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, VCLT, VCLT Jubilee, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(Australian National University) and (Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) was adopted and opened for signature on May 23, 1969, and entered into force on January 27, 1980. In the fifty years since the VCLT was opened for signature, it has become universally regarded as one of the most important instruments of treaty law. It has…

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…

Africa, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law

(Herbert Smith Freehills) and , / /Leave a comment

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is facing significant opposition in its current form. Whilst some parties are engaged to find new common ground, others have unilaterally implemented measures aimed at ousting investor-state arbitration altogether. Over time, more and more attention has been paid to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and its…

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, 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…