Investment law

Annulment, Arbitrability, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, Latin America, Paris Court of Appeal, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Uruguay

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)/ /1 Comment

On August 6, 2020, an arbitral tribunal composed of Andrés Rigo Sureda (P), O. Thomas Johnson, Jr., and Pierre Mayer (the Tribunal), constituted under the agreement between the United Kingdom and Uruguay for the promotion and protection of investments (the BIT), issued an award in Prenay Agarwal, Vinita Agarwal and Ritika Mehta v. Uruguay (PCA…

Arbitrability, Dissenting opinions, Fair and Equitable Treatment, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Latin America, Panama

(Morgan & Morgan Legal)/ /Leave a comment

Investment treaty arbitration tribunals have addressed issues surrounding State intervention and States’ regulatory freedom time and time again, consequently creating guiding precedent regarding State conduct that could constitute breaches of the fair and equitable treatment (“FET”) or expropriation standards. However, recently, an investment treaty arbitration tribunal not only had to deal with issues surrounding the…

Investment law, ISDS, Latin America, Mexico, Mexico Arbitration Week

(Centro de Arbitraje de México) and (Hogan Lovells )/ /Leave a comment

From 29 May to 1 June 2023, Mexico Arbitration Center (“CAM”), the Mediation and Arbitration Commission of the Chamber of Commerce of Mexico City (“CANACO”), and the CAM/CANACO Young Arbitrators Forum came together to organize the inaugural edition of Mexico Arbitration Week. This event aimed to connect professionals from the international community, foster debates, and…

Central Asia, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Uzbekistan

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

The Tashkent Law Spring Forum (“Forum”), organized by the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan, is an important symbol of Uzbekistan’s efforts to establish itself as an open economy and an important player in global and regional markets. The inaugural forum was held in 2019 and attracted more than 1,200 participants and speakers from all over…

Canada, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment Treaties, Mexico, NAFTA, United States, USA, USMCA

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

On June 30, 2020, an era of international investment law and dispute resolution came to an end as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concluded its 27-year tenure with the entry into force of United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA). Three years later, a further milestone is now marked: today, Canada, which…

Arbitral Award, Free Trade Agreements, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, Latin America, Peru

(Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

Despite the good results obtained for several years in its defense from investment arbitration claims, the Republic of Peru has become one of the countries with the highest number of arbitration claims filed against it. To date, nineteen cases have concluded, and twenty-three cases are pending resolution. In December 2022, an award was issued in…

Africa, Africa Arbitration Academy, Investment law, Model BIT, Sustainability

(DC Mediation & Dispute Resolution Institute)/ /Leave a comment

In July 2022, the African Arbitration Academy launched the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty for African States (‘Model BIT’) with the goal of it serving as a source of cohesion for African States’ Investor-State Dispute Settlement (‘ISDS’) reform strategy. They also expect the Model BIT will promote the codification of Investment Policies and Laws for African…

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, ESG, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Uncategorized

(Leiden University)/ /Leave a comment

Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) has been widely criticized for being a tool in the hands of multinational companies, used to challenge domestic public policy measures even when legitimately adopted in the public interest. Critiques have been notable concerning the asymmetrical nature of international investment agreements (IIAs). While IIAs were concluded to afford protection to foreign…

COVID-19, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, World Arbitration Update

, (Nyenrode Business University), and (CREDIMI – University of Burgundy)/ /Leave a comment

The current era of emergencies, which includes climate change, environmental challenges, armed conflicts, and health crises, has a profound impact on foreign direct investment (FDI). A panel held on 27 September 2022 as part of the second edition of the World Arbitration Update (WAU) engaged with the effect of such global emergencies on international investment…

ECT Modernisation, Environment, ESG, EU Law, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS Reform

(Squire Patton Boggs - Paris)/ /Leave a comment

Negotiations towards a modernized Energy Charter Treaty (ECT, Treaty) ended on 24 June 2022, with the States Parties reaching an agreement in principle following discussions towards reform that began in November 2017. While the final text of the modernized Treaty has not yet been published, the Secretariat of the ECT in June issued a public…

Interpretation, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment Treaties

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

States have spent the last decade and a half rebalancing the design of their international investment agreements (IIAs). In their new-generation IIAs, states have clarified core protective standards, omitted controversial clauses, and inserted new carve-outs and general exceptions. These reformed treaties, it was hoped, would provide investment tribunals with “new analytical devices for adjudicating disputes…

ICSID, ICSID Amendments, ICSID Arbitration, International dispute resolution, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Uncategorized

(Consultant, World Bank)/ /1 Comment

On 21 March 2022, the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes , or ICSID, approved extensive amendments  of ICSID’s Regulations and Rules. The Regulations and Rules prominently include the rules of procedure for arbitration proceedings initiated under the constituent treaty of ICSID, the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment…

Fair and Equitable Treatment, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, International Law, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Minimum Standard of Treatment

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

FET is often described as the core standard of international investment law.  Recently, there has been renewed discussion on its intended meaning, by reference to a range of source materials that arguably reflect States’ intentions at the time of concluding investment treaties.  On December 10, 2021, the Dispute Resolution Interest Group of the American Society…

2021 in Review, International Investment Law, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, Ukraine

(Visiting Lawyer at Linklaters) and , (AVELLUM)/ /Leave a comment

The year 2021 has been the busiest year for Ukraine since 2008, with four investment arbitrations initiated against Ukraine. The odds were not always in Ukraine’s favour. Having secured the dismissal of the case for lack of jurisdiction in Littop and others v. Ukraine, Ukraine was defeated by the investor in Olympic Entertainment v. Ukraine….

BIT, Counterclaims, ICSID, ICSID Amendments, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, ICSID Proceedings, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Third party funding

(Squire Patton Boggs - Paris)/ /Leave a comment

On January 20, 2022, ICSID submitted its amended rules to the Administrative Council for a vote, marking the end of the five-year-old process of modernizing the ICSID Rules. ICSID members are expected to cast a vote on the amended rules by March 21, 2022, and if approved, the rules will enter into force on July…

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…

Corruption, Environment, ESG, International Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, Renewable energy, YSIAC Conference

(Oon & Bazul LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Earlier this week, the YSIAC Conference 2021 took place virtually for the first time since its inception. The opening webinar was a panel discussion titled “Resolving ESG Disputes Through International Arbitration”, which agenda was to analyse the disputes in the buzzing environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) domain, distil the trends and lessons learnt therefrom, and…

Investment, Investment law, Investment protection, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Academic Council, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The 18th Annual ITA-ASIL Conference, hosted virtually for a half-day on March 23, 2021, discussed ongoing efforts at ICSID and UNCITRAL Working Group III to reform investment arbitration. José Alvarez (New York University School of Law) kicked off the conference by throwing down the gauntlet: procedural reform does not go far enough. In the long…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, COVID-19, Intellectual Property, International arbitration, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Patents

(Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler)/ /Leave a comment

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, pharmaceutical companies have engaged in a highly competitive and risky vaccine race. In less than 10 months from the declaration of the global pandemic, the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech received its first regulatory approval, followed by the success stories of other companies. The swiftness of these results was praised as “unprecedented”…

AfCFTA, AfCFTA Investment Protocol, Africa, Intra-African BITs, Investment law

(University Cadi Ayyad)/ /Leave a comment

As Phase II negotiations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”) have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a draft legal text of the AfCFTA Investment Protocol (“Protocol”) has not been submitted to the January 2021 Session of the Assembly, as originally expected.  There are reasons to believe that with the recent start…

International Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, WTO

(National University of Singapore) and (City University of Hong Kong/ UMBRA Strategic Legal Solutions)/ /1 Comment

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed by its 15 Parties (after India, an initial negotiating party, withdrew from negotiations) on 15 November 2020.1)This article represents the authors’ personal opinions and does not represent the opinion of their respective organisations. The signature of this agreement amid the COVID-19 pandemic has made quite a headline…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment Treaties, MENA, Middle East, Multilateral Investment Treaties, United Arab Emirates

(Allen & Overy LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The announcement on 13 August 2020 of a rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’) took the world by surprise. Seasoned regional observers noted quiet cooperation and cross-border transactions over the past few years, but few expected these covert relationships to burst into public view so fully and wholeheartedly. The joint declaration, soon…

Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, United States

(Allen & Overy)/ /2 Comments

With the results of the U.S. presidential election announced last week, international lawyers are now looking closely at how the incoming Biden Administration will handle the many challenges facing the global legal order.  President-elect Biden has promised to turn away from the unilateralism that marked the Trump presidency and instead focus on multilateral reengagement.1)See, e.g.,…

AfCFTA, Africa, International Investment Law, International Mediation, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, investor-State arbitration and mediation, ISDS

(Sciences Po)/ /2 Comments

Many see the Pan-African Investment Code (PAIC), a model instrument adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2015, as the first step toward the ‘africanization’ of international investment law. While several national and regional instruments on foreign investments had been adopted by African States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) prior to the PAIC, the latter’s…