ISDS

Diversity, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, UNCITRAL WG3 Series, Working Group III

(Pinna Goldberg) and (Dyakin, Gortsunyan and Partners)/ /1 Comment

Appointments of adjudicators in investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) have recently come under spotlight of the UNCITRAL Working Group III on ISDS Reform (“WGIII”). Recently, at its 51st session in April 2025, the WGIII discussed the draft statute establishing a standing mechanism to resolve international investment disputes (“Draft Statute”). In particular, the Draft Statute contains provisions…

Investment agreements, Investment Disputes, ISDS, ISDS Reform, LIDW 2025

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

The future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) was a key topic of discussion at several events during London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”). Two panels, in particular, explored how the ongoing legitimacy crisis in ISDS is being addressed through recent procedural and substantive reforms, and what these developments may signal for the system’s future. Three Crowns…

Contract Interpretation, Domestic law, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Sovereignty

(Hasselt University, KU Leuven)/ /Leave a comment

Balancing the concurrent rights of sovereign states to regulate in their interest and of foreign investors to be afforded certain standards of protection when investing in a foreign jurisdiction often leads to complex questions in investment arbitration claims. One uncommon, but not entirely novel issue, which was again brought to light in Iskandar Safa and…

Arbitration, Contract Drafting, Contract Interpretation, ESG, Insurance, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, ISDS, Litigation, Remedies, Third party funding

, (Fieldfisher)/ /Leave a comment

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations have evolved from idealistic frameworks into binding legal, financial and reputational imperatives and responsibilities. Increasingly, international arbitration must grapple with the complex and often competing, or at times contradictory, demands that ESG compliance places on states, corporations and dispute resolution mechanisms. As set out below against an 80s soundtrack…

Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, Investor-state tribunals, ISDS, Res Judicata

(University of Leicester)/ /1 Comment

The recent award in Ahron G. Frenkel v. Republic of Croatia has already succeeded in dividing the very tribunal that rendered it—never an encouraging omen. It is unlikely to cease causing a stir in the near future, given its immediate impact on the claimant and its longer-term contribution to the perennial headaches induced by the…

Expropriation, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Jurisdictional challenge

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The takeover of the Chinese-owned British Steel Limited by the UK Government under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2015 can lead to the submission of a dispute to investment treaty arbitration under the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic…

Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, OECD, Tax, Taxation, UN

(HHP Chambers) and (WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) - Institute for Accounting and Auditing)/ /Leave a comment

Recent amendments to the United Nations (“UN”) Model Tax Convention aim at banning the use of investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) provisions for disputing tax measures, thereby attempting to deal a further blow to international investment agreements (IIAs). The UN Model Tax Convention is regularly updated and was drafted with the aim to cater for the…

2025 PAW, Arbitrator Selection, Central Asia, Code of Conduct, Independence and Impartiality, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mediation and Dispute Management, Paris Arbitration Week, Procedure, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

(Linklaters; KU Leuven), (Nyenrode University), and (CREDIMI – University of Burgundy)/ /Leave a comment

On Day 3 of the 2025 Paris Arbitration Week (“PAW”), Nyenrode University organized a comprehensive conference, hosted by Linklaters Paris, examining the future of investment arbitration in the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The event featured a keynote address by Anna Joubin-Bret (UNCITRAL) and welcome remarks from Roland…

Abuse of Rights, Abusive Claims, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment Treaties, ISDS

, (Carleton University, Department of Law and Legal Studies)/ /Leave a comment

Investment tribunals are well-known to examine the abuse of rights doctrine in various contexts, including illegitimate corporate restructuring (Phillip Morris v Australia, para. 588; Lao Holdings v Laos I, para. 70; Alverley v Romania, para. 380), bad faith conduct (Phoenix v Czech Republic, paras.143-44; WCV World Capital Ventures Cyprus Ltd v Czech Republic, paras. 477-478),…

ISDS, ISDS Reform, Multilateral Investment Court, selection of arbitrators, Working Group III

(Humboldt University of Berlin) and (S. Horowitz & Co.)/ /Leave a comment

Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) has gone through significant changes over the years. Before arbitration became the principal mechanism for resolving investment disputes, options of foreign investors were limited to either initiating proceedings before national courts or relying on diplomatic protection. The dissatisfaction with both options, for reasons of a perceived lack of neutrality and sufficient…

Denial of Benefits, ECT Modernisation, ECT Withdrawal, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Energy Dispute, EU Law, European Commission, European Law, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, modernisation process

(Geneva Graduate Institute)/ /Leave a comment

2024 witnessed significant developments concerning the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), ranging from a new wave of withdrawals to the adoption of the modernised ECT in December. This post reviews the key ECT-related developments of 2024 and highlights relevant contributions published on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog (“KAB”).   New Wave of Withdrawals from the ECT In…

Environment, Environmental protection, Human Rights, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

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

This is the sixth 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, here, and here). As we emphasized last year, developments at this intersection continue directional trends from prior years. In particular, the continued reliance…

2024 in Review, Advisory Centre, Dispute Settlement, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL WG III Series, UNCITRAL WG3 Series, Working Group III

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2024 appeared to be one of the busiest years for investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) reform, with significant advances in the United Nations Commission on Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) Working Group III discussions and the adoption of the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). This post exclusively focuses on Working Group III’s key milestones in 2024 and relevant…

Access to Justice, Achmea, Europe, European Convention on Human Rights, German Federal Constitutional Court, Germany, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

, (Fietta LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 13 September 2024, the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, “BVG” or “the Court”) published two judgments dated 23 July 2024 (available here and here, both in German), accompanied by a press release (here), rejecting as inadmissible two constitutional complaints brought by the claimant in the Eureko (later Achmea) v Slovakia (1) arbitration (“BVG Judgments”).  While other commentators…

Arbitration, Diversity, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /2 Comments

At Kluwer Arbitration Blog, December is the month to thank our readers and collaborators for their readership, contributions, and support. This is also the occasion to praise our excellent editors. In January 2025, Kluwer Arbitration Blog celebrates 16 years of existence. The Editorial Board of Blog expanded from two to over forty members, showcasing the…

Ecuador, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, ISDS, Latin America

(FWO - Ghent University)/ /Leave a comment

On March 27, 2024, an arbitration tribunal issued its Phase II award in the EcuadorTLC v. Ecuador II case (“EcuadorTLC II”), a decision that has flown under the radar of systemic analysis. This case is one of a number of new Ecuadorian arbitration cases (here, here) that have come into the public eye in the…

Energy Charter Treaty, Investor-State arbitration, Investor-state tribunals, ISDS, Procedure, Provisional measures

(Università degli Studi di Trieste and Luiss Guido Carli)/ /Leave a comment

On 23 July 2024, an ICSID arbitral tribunal in the case Klesch Group v. Germany issued a decision on provisional measures directing the respondent State to refrain from collecting certain windfall profits tax in order to protect the exclusivity of the ICSID arbitral proceedings and the status quo between the parties. This post will summarize…

Achmea, EU Law, German Federal Constitutional Court, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, ISDS

(Schellenberg Wittmer)/ /Leave a comment

On March 6, 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) delivered its (in)famous Achmea judgment (Case C-284/16), which subsequently became synonymous with the demise of investor-state arbitration in bilateral investment treaties between Member States of the European Union (“intra-EU BITs”). In this decision, the CJEU concluded that investor-state arbitration clauses in intra-EU…

Attribution, Awards, Investor-State arbitration, Investor-state tribunals, ISDS

, (Kim & Chang)/ /Leave a comment

On 11 April 2024, the Permanent Court of Arbitration published the award in Mason Capital L.P. and Mason Management LLC v. Republic of Korea (PCA Case No. 2018-55) (“Mason”), reaching the same substantive result as last year’s award in Elliott Associates L.P. v. Republic of Korea (PCA Case No. 2018-51) (“Elliott”), while disagreeing on the…

Australia, Hearings, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, PCA, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Transparency, Transparency in investment arbitrations

(University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law)/ /Leave a comment

On 4 August 2023, in an investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS) arbitration commenced against Australia on 29 March 2023 under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) Australia New Zealand Agreement for a Free Trade Area (“AANZFTA”), Singapore-incorporated Zeph filed an application for interim measures including an unusual request. Zeph sought an order that Australia’s “officers…

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…

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 Kramer)/ /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),…

Enforcement, ISDS, LIDW 2024, London, Mediation, Third party funding

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

The centerpiece of the 2024 London International Disputes Week was the full day main Conference on Tuesday, 4 June, bringing together leaders from across the dispute resolution world to discuss the topical issues of the moment under the theme of Uniting for Global Challenge and Opportunity.   The Conference was opened by Luke Harrison, partner…