Investment Treaties

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…

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….

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…

Interim measures, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, Provisional measures

(British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL))/ /Leave a comment

As the number of investor-state disputes grows, so does the number of applications for provisional measures. The recent empirical study conducted by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and White&Case suggests that investors were more than twice as likely to obtain positive decisions on their requests than respondent states. The study also showed that…

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…

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…

DR-CAFTA, Dual Nationals, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Latin America

(GST LLP)/ /Leave a comment

It is said that states lose more times than investors in investment arbitration. Indeed, ICSID surveys reveal that while investors receive an award of costs in 41.4% of the cases, states receive a similar award of costs only in 23% of the cases, even when jurisdiction is fully declined. A case where a state prevails…

Investment Treaties, Transparency in investment arbitrations, Vietnam

(Geneva MIDS)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The topic of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) has never been more trending in Vietnam than now. The year 2019 witnessed two of the most noticeable events pertaining to ISDS that involved Vietnam: the end of over-twenty-year Trinh Vinh Binh v Vietnam saga 1)Global Arbitration Review, ‘Dutch national wins moral damages against Vietnam’. and the…

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…

Africa, Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, BIT, ICSID, ICSID Proceedings, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Tanzania

(Equanimity Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

In September 2018, Tanzania took the international arbitration community by surprise when it issued its notice of its intent to terminate the Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between Tanzania and the Netherlands which was set to expire on 1 April 2019 (Netherlands BIT). Article 14 (2) of the Netherlands BIT provides that…

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…

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…

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…

Blockchain, Climate change, Green Investments, Investment Treaties, Multilateral Investment Treaties, Sustainability

(General Editor Journal of International Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Annette Magnusson, ‘Foreword: The Story of the Stockholm Treaty Lab’ (2019) 36 Journal of International Arbitration, Issue 1, pp. 1–6 In 2015, the world community adopted the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals,…

2018 In Review, Arbitration, Australia, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform, New Zealand

(Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

Last year was a busy one for arbitration practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and 2019 looks set to be even busier. In 2018, both countries initiated a range of arbitration reforms, initiatives and negotiations which give insights into the likely general direction of travel for both countries in the coming year. This post focusses…

Belt Road Initiative, BIT, China, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China)/ /Leave a comment

In 2013, China proposed to jointly build the “Belt and Road” Initiative. While the international investment agreements (“IIAs”) proposed to be concluded with China and its counterparties along the “Belt and Road” will provide a robust source of potential investor protections, they must be easily understood among investors, states, and international tribunals. IIAs, as the…

Achmea, CETA, Intra-EU BITs, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

While the jury is still out on whether winter is coming or has already arrived regarding ISDS and investment treaties, I would rather turn to agriculture and use the metaphor of sowing the seeds and harvesting. Since July 2010, when the European Commission published its very first Communication on ISDS and investment treaties, it has…

Achmea, Croatia, Energy Charter Treaty, Germany, Hungary, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Slovakia, Spain

(Linklaters LLP) and (Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) judgment in Slovak Republic v. Achmea B.V. (Achmea) on arbitration under intra-EU BITs has been broadly discussed (on this blog, see e.g. here, here, here, here, here, here and here). Nine months after the Court’s ruling, some tribunals have had the opportunity to react. Food for…

Human Rights, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor duties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The assessment of human rights within an investment arbitration framework, typical for the investor-state dispute resolution (ISDS) mechanism, is one of the topics which has gained significant momentum in the past years, and has led even to the establishment of a Working Group on International Arbitration of Business and Human Rights. Arbitral tribunals often…

Derivate Contracts, Derivative Claims, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, Multiple parties, NAFTA

(University of Bristol )/ /Leave a comment

The last decade has seen multiparty arbitration emerge as a contentious issue in investment treaty arbitration. Beginning with Abaclat v Argentina, investment tribunals have grappled with whether similarly-situated, but otherwise unrelated investors with distinct investments, can bundle their claims in a single arbitration. While decisions on this issue continue to evolve, a new ground for…