Investor-State arbitration

Arbitrator Challenges, ICSID Convention, Independence and Impartiality, Investor-State arbitration, UNCITRAL, Working Group III

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The ICSID Rules Amendment Project Marking the latest step in its procedural rules overhaul, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) Secretariat released the third Working Paper on Proposals for the ICSID Arbitration Rules Amendments in late August 2019 (“WP3”). It is safe to say that the revisions of the ICSID Rules arrive…

Abuja Treaty, AfCFTA, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(University of Arkansas School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On 30 May 2019, the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA Agreement”) went into effect. Signed on 21 March 2018, the AfCFTA Agreement is a mega-regional trade agreement that creates a pan-African trade bloc that has the potential to unite 1.2 billion people and create a $3.4 trillion economic area. The…

Abuja Treaty, AfCFTA, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(University of Arkansas School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement) went into effect on May 30, 2019. The AfCFTA is the next step in a process set in motion in 1994 when the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty) entered into force. The Abuja Treaty put in place the framework for the establishment…

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…

Arab World, ICSID Arbitration, International Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, Public contract disputes, State of necessity, State Responsibility

(Covington & Burling LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The Arab Spring erupted in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and other countries of the Arab World in 2011 and 2012. As I wrote in a 2015 Kluwer Arbitration Blog post, The Evolution of Arbitration in the Arab World, the uprisings of the Arab Spring and the political…

Damages, Damages experts, Investment Arbitration, Investor, Investor-State arbitration

(FTI Consulting)/ /1 Comment
ArbitralWomen

Recently published arbitral awards provide insight into Tribunals’ reasoning when the quantum of a claim is challenged for being too uncertain or speculative. Typically, Claimants will not only claim costs incurred up to the date of the breach or expropriation, but they will also claim compensation for future profits in a but-for scenario. However, a…

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…

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

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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…

Central Asia, Damages, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, quantum, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

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Despite the variety of investment treaty disputes involving assets in the Post-Soviet jurisdictions in Central Asia, assessment of damages in each particular case is often heavily debated by the parties, experts and tribunals. In many instances, selecting an appropriate valuation method is the cornerstone of the tribunal’s decision-making on damages. This article provides an overview…

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…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arab World, Fork in the road, Indonesia, Investor-State arbitration, Libya, MENA, Middle East, PCA, Permanent Court of Arbitration

(Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University)/ /5 Comments

On 27 March 2017, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA“) designated an appointing authority in an OIC arbitration by applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, despite the absence of any reference to these Rules in the OIC Agreement. This decision, which concerns a pending case, DS. Construction v. Libya , could mark the…

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

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

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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…

Corruption, ICSID Arbitration, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration

, , (Winston & Strawn LLP) and (Rivero Mestre LLP)/ /3 Comments

In recent years, a number of arbitral tribunals adjudicating treaty-based investment disputes have been confronted with the question of what to do when the state party to such a dispute alleges that the investors acquired the investment through corrupt means. In some instances, tribunals have applied the defense as a jurisdictional bar, preventing the investors…

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…

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

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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…

Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

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The 8th edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills – SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture, jointly organised with the Centre for Cross-border Commercial Law at the Singapore Management University, took place on 18 October 2018. The distinguished event, graced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, hosted a panel comprising: Sir Christopher Greenwood, DAG Lionel Yee, Judith Gill QC…

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…

Attribution, ICSID Arbitration, ILC Articles on State Responsibility, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration

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In the recently published award in Georg Gavrilovic and Gavrilovic d.o.o. v. Republic of Croatia (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/39)1) Georg Gavrilovic and Gavrilovic d.o.o. v. Republic of Croatia (ICSID Case No. ARB/12/39), Award, dated 26 July 2018. the tribunal considered whether the notion of attribution extends to the non-wrongful conduct of various State or State-linked…

ILC Articles on State Responsibility, Investor-State arbitration, State Responsibility, State Responsibility for Damage

(Bottega Di Bella)/ /2 Comments

At a time when Spain is targeted by investment arbitrations (with almost thirty ICSID cases pending against it), the second ICSID-CIAMEN Forum held in Madrid could not be more auspicious.  The event – organized by Marta Lya Martini Briceño and José María Beneyto from the CIAMEN (Centro Internacional de Arbitraje, Mediación y Negociación) with the…

Canada, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Mexico, NAFTA, USA, USMCA

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Young ITA

President Trump’s October 1, 2018 announcement that the United States, Canada, and Mexico have reached an agreement to replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) marks a veritable sea change in investor-state dispute settlement in the region. Previous and prospective users of NAFTA’s dispute resolution procedures will immediately note that this new free-trade…

ICSID Amendments, Investor-State arbitration, Security for Costs, Third party funding, Venezuela

(Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP)/ /Leave a comment

“The problem with money,” wrote the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, “is that it costs too much.” This may soon ring all too true for some investment treaty arbitration claimants and the third parties that seek to fund their claims. Recent developments suggest that there may be support – albeit embryonic – for…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Savoie Arbitration) and (Fordham School of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Recent events such as the NAFTA re-negotiations have drawn leading newspapers around the world to turn their attention to ISDS tribunals. Often in an effort to make their stories sensational, they speak of “obscure tribunals,” “secret trade court,” and “justice behind closed doors,” most of the time giving it an unfair and biased image. In…

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

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Based on the panel discussion moderated at the 30th Annual ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting, with panelists Lorraine de Germiny, Robert Landicho, and Laura Sinisterra.1) This post is a summary of the first panel discussion of the Young ITA Roundtable, 30th Annual ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting: Multiple Proceedings, Multiple Parties, and International Arbitration: What…