Investment Arbitration

Denial of Benefits, Energy Charter Treaty, EU Law, European Commission, European Union, Investment Arbitration

, (Pinsent Masons)/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission’s “Proposal for a Council Decision on the partial suspension of the application of the Energy Charter Treaty between the Union and any legal entity that is owned or controlled by citizens or nationals of the Russian Federation or of the Republic of Belarus, and any Investment within the meaning of the Energy…

Constitutional Court, Ecuador, ICSID Arbitration, International arbitration, International Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Latin America, Trade and investment agreements

, , (Tadir Dispute Resolution)/ /1 Comment

The Ecuadorian government held a referendum and a public consultation on 21 April 2024. Question D of the referendum asked citizens: “Do you agree that the Ecuadorian State recognizes international arbitration as a method to resolve disputes related to investment, contractual, or commercial matters?” (free translation). The substantive proposal of the question was merely based…

Brexit, ECT Modernisation, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, England, Investment Arbitration, UK

(Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH)/ /Leave a comment

At the end of February 2024, the United Kingdom (“UK”)’s Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Graham Stuart announced his country’s decision to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). On 28 May 2024, the Energy Charter Secretariat revealed in a press release that the UK’s formal notification of withdrawal had already been received by…

foreign direct investment, Foreign Investment, Free Trade Agreements, India, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor duties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Protection, State-State Dispute Settlement, State-to-state arbitration

(Jindal Global Law School)/ /Leave a comment

It took 16 years of negotiations for India and the European Free Trade Association (“EFTA”)—comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein—to clinch a free trade agreement (“FTA”). The newly minted FTA is expected to boost the extant levels of trade between the two countries. The formal name of the signed agreement is the Trade and Economic…

Bonds, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment protection, ISDS, LIDW 2024

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

As part of the 2024 edition of the London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”), Reed Smith LLP hosted a panel on “Bank Collapse and ISDS: Arbitration Strategy and Dramatis Personae”. The panel, moderated by Lucy Winnington-Ingram (Reed Smith), comprised Kathleen Garrett (Reed Smith), Cameron Miles (3 Verulam Buildings), Lorena Fatás Pérez (Ministry of Justice of Spain),…

Arbitration, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Energy Dispute, EU Law, European Law, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, Investor-state tribunals, Italy, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Jurisdictional challenge, Renewable energy

(Università degli Studi di Trento)/ /Leave a comment

On March 11, 2024, an ICSID arbitral tribunal (Juan Fernández-Armesto (President), Wendy Miles, Alexis Mourre), rendered an award in Encavis AG and Others v. Italy. The controversy follows some other 14 disputes initiated by EU investors against the Italian State under the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) (some of these discussed here) and falls into the…

Canada, CETA, Europe, European Commission, European Union, Expedited arbitration, Expedited Proceedings, Expropriation, Fair and Equitable Treatment, FET, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

Although parts of CETA have been provisionally applied since 21 September 2017, the parts not subject to provisional application – including the investment chapter (CETA’s Chapter Eight) which covers investment protection and dispute resolution – are still pending domestic ratification procedures in 10 EU Member States. In parallel, CETA’s framework for investment protection and dispute…

Access to Justice, Albania, Arbitral Award, Arbitration, Enforcement, European Court of Human Rights, Foreign arbitral awards, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investor-State arbitration, Investor-state tribunals, ISDS, Recognition, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

, (Fietta LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 5 March 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”) delivered its judgment in Iliria S.R.L. v. Albania (“Iliria”), a case concerning a complaint under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR” or “the Convention”) relating to a more than 17-year delay in the conclusion of recognition (exequatur) proceedings…

Achmea, BIT, CJEU, Domestic Courts, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, Europe, foreign direct investment, Foreign Investment, International arbitration, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration

, (Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

On 25 April 2024, the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (“EFILA”) held its 9th Annual Conference at Clifford Chance in Frankfurt. The conference was opened by the Chair of the Executive Board of EFILA, Mirjam van de Hel (NautaDutilh) who underscored the importance of discussing the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on international arbitration…

Climate change, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration

(Climate Change Counsel)/ /Leave a comment

On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament voted for the EU to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). Three days earlier, Ecuador had voted to keep the country’s constitutional ban on investor-state arbitration. These events mark the last chapters in the increasingly turbulent tale of investment treaties and investor-state arbitration. Over the past few…

CJEU, Corruption, Enforcement, Immunity, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, Paris Arbitration Week, Public Policy

, , (Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP)/ /Leave a comment

As part of 2024 Paris Arbitration Week, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP hosted a webinar on “Swords and Shields: Navigating Current Trends in Enforcing Arbitral Awards.” The event featured Sebastiano Nessi, Loujaine Kahaleh, and Juan Perla, and was moderated by Geoffroy Lyonnet. The panel examined recent trends in the enforcement of arbitral awards, starting…

Climate change, Investment Arbitration

/ /Leave a comment

On the 7th of March, Wolters Kluwer hosted a webinar to mark the launch of the book Investment Arbitration and Climate Change, edited by Anja Ipp and Annette Magnusson (co-founders of Climate Change Counsel) and published by Wolters Kluwer in January 2024. The webinar featured four of the book’s contributing authors: Caline Mouawad (Partner at…

Articles of State Responsibility, Investment Arbitration, ISDS

(International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID))/ /Leave a comment

In the commentary to the ILC draft Articles on State Responsibility it is suggested that interest is not “a necessary part of compensation in every case.” (See Article 38, Commentary 1). However, in investor-State disputes, it has become usual for parties to request, and for tribunals to include, interest on top of compensation. The awards…

2023 in Review, ESG, Human Rights, ICSID Arbitration, Investment Arbitration

(Georgetown Law) and (Columbia Law School)/ /Leave a comment

This is the fifth consecutive year that we, either together or separately, have reported on trends at the intersection of human rights and international investment arbitration from the prior year (see prior Blog coverage, here, here, here, and here). As we emphasized last year, developments at this intersection continue directional trends from prior years, but also the aperture for…

BIT, India, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes

(Nishith Desai Associates) and (Clifford Chance Asia)/ /Leave a comment

India ADR Week (“IAW“) 2023 was hosted by the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (“MCIA“) across three cities – Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. Gathering over 700 attendees from a cross-section of the arbitration community, IAW featured more than 40 events over six days in a series of in-person and virtual panels. The breadth and diversity…

2023 in Review, Annulment, Arbitrability, Duty to Disclose, France, French Law, Investment Arbitration

, (Laborde Law)/ /Leave a comment

This post provides a recap of notable arbitration-related developments in France in 2023. Far from being an exhaustive account, it focuses on French court decisions in the areas identified below. Overall, French courts have not only consolidated their approaches on recurring topics—as was the case in 2020, 2021, and 2022—but have also taken a slightly…

ICSID, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Latin America

(Jana & Gil Dispute Resolution)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

It was 8:45 am in Santiago de Chile on August 30, 2023, and the Centro de Arbitraje y Mediación de la Cámara de Comercio de Santiago’s – CAM Santiago venue was full for the seminar “Tendencies in Investment Arbitration in Latin-America: Current Issues and Challenges.” Among attendants were academics, practitioners, government officials, and arbitrators, who…

2023 in Review, Caribbean, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Latin America

(Herbert Smith Freehills), (BakerHostetler), and (Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados – BMA)/ /Leave a comment

Another year ends with set records for investment arbitration in Latin America. ICSID reported that, out of the new forty-five registered cases, twenty-one were brought against Latin American and Caribbean states (the annual report covers the fiscal year from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023). In other words, almost fifty percent of the new…

2023 in Review, Anti-suit injunction, Artificial Intelligence, Australia, Australian Arbitration Week, Climate change, Commercial Arbitration, Fiji, Interim measures, Investment Arbitration, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, State Immunity

, and (Wynn Williams)/ /1 Comment

2023 was another year of growth for arbitration in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It saw developments in investment arbitration and disputes relating to climate change, efforts to improve gender and cultural diversity, debate and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, and pro-arbitration jurisprudence. We explore some of these key themes below….

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Climate change, Energy, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Legitimacy

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

At the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, December is the month to thank our readers and collaborators for their readership, contributions, and support. This is also one of the occasions in which we highlight and we praise our excellent editors.   The Kluwer Arbitration Blog will celebrate 15 years of existence in 2024. On 28 January 2009, the…

Brazil, Dispute Resolution, ICSID, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Latin America

(Justen, Pereira, Oliveira & Talamini) and (University of Cambridge)/ /Leave a comment

“Corporations have their own global private court system – called ISDS – which they use to bully governments. But many victims of corporate human rights abuses don’t have any way of winning justice. This is unfair. We need to end these corporate courts now! Rights for people, rules for corporations.”  Letter from the Stop ISDS…

China, Enforcement, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, Sovereign Immunity

, (Hui Zhong Law Firm)/ /3 Comments

Introduction  On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) Foreign State Immunity Law (“CFSIL”, bilingual version here).  It will enter into force on January 1, 2024, together with the amended Chinese Civil Procedure Law 2023 (“CPL 2023”, English translation here).  The new legislation not…

Dual Nationals, Interstate arbitral awards, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Latin America, Venezuela

, (JGTorrealba)/ /Leave a comment

In the case of Santamarta v Venezuela, the dispute involved a dual national of Venezuela and Spain, who filed a claim against Venezuela for allegedly obstructing Santamarta’s pharmaceutical business, including an unlawful confiscation of a manufacturing plant. The arbitration proceedings were conducted in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (1976) on the basis of the…

Corruption, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Latin America, Peru

, (Rodrigo Elías & Medrano)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

On 1 December 2022, the Tribunal in the Panamericana Television S.A (hereafter, “Pantel” or “Claimant”) v. The Republic of Peru (hereafter, “Peru” or “Respondent”) case issued its Final Award, in which not only did it reject the merits of Pantel’s claims, but it also dismissed, among others, the objection ratione materiae formulated by Peru, based on Articles 2,…