Latin America is the region that has faced the largest number of investment treaty arbitration cases in the world, holding 30% of the total ICSID caseload (549 cases as of December 31, 2015). South America alone, comprised by twelve UNASUR members, has faced 131 ICSID cases with a number of adverse outcomes for the host…
2015 has witnessed numerous interesting legal developments in the field of international arbitration in Latin America, although these have been wide-ranging in nature and have not always followed the same path. While some jurisdictions have taken legislative steps to introduce or consolidate pro-arbitration legislation in accordance with internationally accepted standards, others, perhaps influenced by negative…
by Daniela Páez-Salgado, Herbert Smith Freehills (Assistant Editor for South America) On November 2, 2015, an ICSID-appointed Committee issued its Decision on Annulment in Occidental v Ecuador (Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Occidental Exploration and Production Company v. Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No. ARB/06/11). The Committee rejected twelve of the thirteen grounds for annulment raised…
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s chambers. The legal landscape in Latin America is rapidly changing. Not only has Latin America more bilateral Trade Agreements than any other region in the world, but it…
Perhaps on a daily basis, in at least one city somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, an international-arbitration practitioner is asked to describe the benefits of arbitration over litigation in Latin America. The common refrain: “Predictability.” As conventional wisdom goes, this almost automatic response is borne out of the notion that litigating in many Latin American…
The rise of China as a major economic and political actor is one of the defining features of the twentieth-first century. Much of China’s growing power comes from its ever-expanding economy. In order to expand its blossoming economy, China needs to tap into new markets. In an age of intense market integration and economic competition,…
Investment arbitration is a crucial and sensitive dispute-resolution method, notably because the treatment given to foreign investment matters may materially affect the economic and social realities of a country or region, particularly those in development. In the last decade, however, as already reported and addressed in this blog by, among many others, Vanessa Giraud and…
By Carlos González–Bueno and Laura Lozano, González-Bueno & Asociados, Madrid. It is commonly understood that Latin American countries have played an important dominant role as respondents in ICSID cases. This has led to the withdrawal from the ICSID Convention by several Latin American countries. Interestingly, however, according to recent ICSID statistics, cases filed against Latin…
For more information about ITAFOR, click here. To subscribe to ITAFOR, click here. The Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), the Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB) and the Comitê Brasileiro de Arbitragem (CBAr), are pleased to announce the launch of a new online forum for the discussion of pertinent legal issues relating to arbitration of Latin…
Over the years Latin American countries have played an increasingly relevant role in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the “ICSID”), with the highest proportion – 27% – of all cases handled by the Centre. Despite the high percentage these same countries have been increasingly expressing their dislike about having to resolve their…
Kluwer Arbitration Blog offers an exclusive coverage of the ICCA Conference in Miami, 2014. The posts present the discussions and presentations of the Plenary Sessions, as well as of the panels of the “Precision” and “Justice Streams”, with comments from our collaborators from the following law firms: Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP; Shook,…
The numbers of energy and mining related disputes in Latin America constitute 67 out of 162 or 41% of the total ICSID cases within the region. In most of these disputes the respondents are Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador or Venezuela, which represent 52 out of 67 or 78% of the total energy and mining ICSID cases…
The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) has issued, on 19 June 2013, a landmark decision addressing the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz (Resp. no. 1,278,852-MG Samarco Mineração S/A v Jerson Valadares da Cruz). The decision deals with the allocation of competence between arbitral tribunals and national courts to decide on the validity of an arbitration agreement….
One of the most important legal developments in Latin America during the last few decades has been the expansion in the protection of fundamental rights. This has occurred not only with regard to the express recognition of new substantive rights into several national legal systems, but also regarding the creation of procedural remedies geared to…
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has issued another update on its long-running dispute with Guatemala over lax protection of worker rights in the latter country. Readers of this blog may recall that the United States initiated a state-to-state arbitration against Guatemala in 2011, invoking for the first time a fast-track arbitration mechanism…
One of the most important elements to consider when participating in arbitration proceedings is the available mechanisms to challenge the award of the arbitral tribunal. This element acquires an added significance when it comes to international arbitration where the award may be enforced in several jurisdictions. With that in mind, it is pertinent to refer…
By Tai-Heng Cheng* & Lucas Bento** Introduction On October 5th, 2012, a split ICSID tribunal determined that the Republic of Ecuador had breached the US-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty (“BIT”), and awarded damages of US$1.77 billion (US$2.3 billion with interest applied), reportedly the largest award ever to have been issued by an ICSID tribunal. This award…
A few months ago I wrote a post on this Blog about what I saw as “work left to do” in the Spanish arbitration system. I started with the need to build a regional court of arbitration on a par with those well-known centres in other jurisdictions, with the fundamental aim of taking advantage of…
A recent decision of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) has ruled, for the first time, on the issue of the concurrent jurisdiction of national courts and arbitral tribunals with respect to the making of interim measures (Itarumã Participações S.A. v Participações em Complexos Bioenergéticos S.A. – PCBIOS, Resp no. 1,297,974-RJ). The decision is…
In a recent blog post, Gary Born highlighted the current role of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in administering state-to-state arbitrations. Given that the PCA has recently released its Annual Report for 2011, I thought I’d complement Gary’s post with some further information about the PCA’s role in administering investor-to-state arbitrations. It’s useful to set…
Ana Carolina Beneti Ricardo Dalmaso Marques (a) Introduction 1. The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) was called, in September 2010, to decide on a compelling matter: the possibility (or not) of recognizing and enforcing a foreign award rendered devoid of grounds and whether this decision would violate public policy if it produced effects in…
On June 25th, 2012 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which covers all federal appeals emanating from the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, decided that a private commercial arbitration tribunal in Ecuador used by the parties to resolve a commercial dispute is a ‘tribunal’ for purposes of the collection of…
For almost 20 years, Mexico has been at the forefront of Latin-American arbitration practice. It has been widely recognized both in terms of the quality and sophistication of its practitioners, its modern legal framework (since 1993 based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration) and for its arbitration friendly judiciary. According to statistics…
