Investment protection

European Union, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Multilateral Investment Court

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

Much has been written – on this page and elsewhere – about the future viability of investor-state arbitration based on intra-EU BITs in the aftermath of the CJEU’s Achmea decision. In the authors’ view, the May 2020 Termination Agreement concluded between 23 of the 27 EU Member States with the intention to terminate existing intra-EU…

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, 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…

ICSID, Investment protection, Mediation

(Arbitrator Intelligence) and (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

Co-organised by YSIAC’s Ms Kirsten Teo and Young ICSID’s Ms Celeste Salinas Quero, this YSIAC-Young ICSID webinar on the impact of the Singapore Convention on Mediation (“Convention”) on international investment disputes brought together five visionary speakers across four time-zones and attracted hundreds of attendees from 50 countries worldwide. With Mr Diogo Pereira (Partner, De Almeida…

Arbitration, foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties

, (D|R Arbitration & Litigation)/ /Leave a comment

On March 25, the European Commission issued a set of guidelines addressed to Member States, concerning foreign direct investment (FDI) from third countries and the protection of European critical assets. In face of the current crisis caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, the European Commission calls upon Member States to make full use of their…

Arbitration Awards, Due Diligence, Fair and Equitable Treatment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties

(Nyenrode Business University)/ /2 Comments

In interpreting one of the most contested investment treaty protection standards – fair and equitable treatment – arbitral tribunals have increasingly referred to the necessity for an investor to conduct a due diligence investigation before investing in a host state. Foreign investors have been required to assess not only commercial, but also general socio-political risks….

COVID-19, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration

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Extraordinary Times  These are extraordinary times in many regards. The spread of novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), now considered a pandemic, continues to have a significant global impact on several fronts. For States, the pandemic of course presents significant public health challenges. As we are seeing, it also presents significant economic challenges, due to the convergence of…

COVID-19, International Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration

, (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP)/ /2 Comments

In response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis, States around the world have taken a variety of measures seeking to stem the spread of COVID-19 and to provide for medical supplies and protective equipment, including emergency declarations empowering governments to take control of private businesses, closure of borders, quarantines, stay-at-home orders, suspension of mortgage and utility…

2019 In Review, Australia, Cambodia, European Union, Free Trade Agreements, Indonesia, Investment protection, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, YSIAC Conference

, and (Clifford Chance Asia)/ /Leave a comment

Amidst the typical hustle and bustle of year-end festivities, our Southeast Asia editorial team takes a moment to look back on the arbitration developments in Southeast Asia in 2019.   New Free Trade Agreements and Developments in National Laws In 2019, states comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) continued to demonstrate their commitment…

Counsel, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS Reform, Surveys

(School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)) and , (School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) )/ /Leave a comment

Last week QMUL, in partnership with the Corporate Counsel International Arbitration Group (“CCIAG”), launched its first ever survey focusing exclusively on international investment. This is the tenth major empirical International Arbitration survey conducted by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London. A link to the survey can be found here. The…

Full Protection and Security, ICSID, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection

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The numerous interpretations of the Full Protection and Security Standard (“FPSS”) have complicated the findings of tribunals for many years. A number of tribunals have found that this standard applies only to physical protection. Meanwhile, other tribunals have extended this standard to cover all types of protection from physical to legal and commercial. Also, more…

Advisory Centre, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL, Working Group III

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Introduction There are parallel initiatives currently considering a potential reform of the international Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) system. Particularly, the work presently taking place at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) by its Working Group III (WGIII) is one of the forums that continues to attract attention as we get closer to…

BIT, Chile, Free Trade Agreements, Investment protection, Investment Treaties

and (King & Spalding)/ /Leave a comment

Chile is one of the most dynamic states in Latin America.  The World Bank has observed that “Chile has been one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades”.  And foreign direct investment has increased significantly in recent years.  As investment interest in Chile grows, it is important for both investors and international law practitioners…

Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

On March 27, 2019, Washington, D.C. hosted the 16th annual ITA-ASIL Conference discussing the impact of State parties in contract-based arbitrations.  Also known as private-public and “investomercial” arbitration, this genre of arbitration has recently grown due to, among other things, privatization processes, concession agreements, as well as conditions imposed by lenders and insurance companies. Providing…

Armed Conflict, International Humanitarian Law, Investment protection

(Ruhr-University)/ /Leave a comment

On 1 and 2 March 2019, a group of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international investment law (IIL) experts came together for a workshop at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. The event, organized and hosted by Tobias Ackermann (Bochum) and Sebastian Wuschka (Hamburg / Bochum), dealt with the interplay between IIL and the legal regimes that apply…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL

(Stockholm University) and / /Leave a comment

Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system has become the focus of various initiatives of different international organizations and groups in the past years. Currently, there are various developments taking place at various levels of the ISDS system. For example, (i) the new generation of international investment treaties—in particular, the new Free Trade Agreements signed…

Australia, BIT, Indonesia, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(TSMP Law Corporation)/ /Leave a comment

The signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (“IACEPA“) on 4 March 2019 marked an important milestone for both States (as covered in a post earlier this week). Given that both Indonesia and Australia have their reservations on investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“) processes, it is interesting to see that the IACEPA contains a chapter…

Attribution, Australia, BIT, Indonesia, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Australian National University)/ /3 Comments

Last month, Australia and Indonesia signed the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (‘IA-CEPA’), containing in Chapter 14 provisions related to the protection of foreign investments. Negotiations of an IA-CEPA were initially announced in 2010, and formally began in September 2012. The negotiations were thereafter suspended, but relaunched in March 2016. Signature and ratification of the…

foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, OECD

(Columbia Law School)/ /Leave a comment

The OECD Secretariat launched, in 2018, a “FDI qualities project”. Its objective is to provide governments with a tool kit to attract investment that contributes as much as possible to sustainable development. For that purpose, the project has identified five clusters of “FDI qualities indicators”: productivity-innovation, skills, job quality, gender, and carbon footprint. These indicators…

Hong Kong, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The year of the pig was off to a good start in Hong Kong at the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform Conference organised by the Hong Kong Department of Justice and the Asian Academy of International Law on 13 February 2019. Like the fabled pig, ISDS reform has been slow in coming, and the aim…

Investment, Investment protection, Investor, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction In their Fourth Turning Theory, Howe and Strauss put forward the thesis that every cycle in Anglo-American history had concluded with a great crisis, a fourth turning, from which a new order with a new set of beliefs had emerged. According to their predictions, a new crisis should have started sometime around 2005 and…

Crimea, Investment, Investment protection, Investor, Russia, Switzerland, Territory, Ukraine

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Young ICCA

Since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, a substantial number of investment claims, in particular expropriation claims, have been raised by Ukrainian nationals against the Russian Federation in relation to investments made in Crimea prior to the annexation. In this regard, a fundamental legal issue concerns the applicability of the Agreement…

Achmea, CJEU, European Law, International Investment Arbitration, International Law, Intra-EU BITs, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, ISDS

(Concepción Global, PLLC, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)/ /Leave a comment

The CERSA (CNRS- University Paris II Panthéon-Assas) organized its third event in a series of seminars on selected topics in international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) (for the report of the first seminar, see here). The seminar on Topical issues in ISDS: EU Investment Law was held in Paris on 7 February 2019…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Chartered Institute of Arbitrators)/ /Leave a comment
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)

At the heart of the debate surrounding Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform is UNCITRAL Working Group (WG) III.  Until two years ago, WG III was dedicated to discussing issues surrounding online dispute resolution.  But in 2017, in response to several significant awards against states in investment arbitration and corresponding public outcry, the WG III was…