Category: Articles

VARbitration: Advocate General Ćapeta Sees the European Court of Justice as the Ultimate Referee

By Édouard Bruc and Ben Williams[1] Since its inception in 1983, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rapidly established itself as the world’s leading forum for sports disputes.  Yet – despite calling itself a “Court” – CAS is functionally an arbitral institution.  Based in Switzerland, CAS handles around a thousand proceedings a year,… Read More VARbitration: Advocate General Ćapeta Sees the European Court of Justice as the Ultimate Referee

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Conflicts Between International Climate Law and Investment Arbitration: A proposed exception to the full reparation standard without moving the goalposts

By Claudia Wortmann[1] State Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘UNFCCC’) and the 2015 Paris Agreement are obliged to take steps to mitigate climate change. Such steps include achieving an urgent energy transition away from fossil fuels toward more renewable, ‘green’ energy. However, one of the issues that arises in the… Read More Conflicts Between International Climate Law and Investment Arbitration: A proposed exception to the full reparation standard without moving the goalposts

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UK’s Court of Appeal Affirms No Adjudicative Immunity for States in ICSID Award Registration Proceedings

By Dimitar Arabov[1] Registering arbitral awards rendered pursuant to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (1965) (the “ICSID Convention” and, respectively, “ICSID Award(s)”) in England & Wales ought to be, at least in principle, a reasonably straightforward matter. The implementing legislation of the ICSID Convention in… Read More UK’s Court of Appeal Affirms No Adjudicative Immunity for States in ICSID Award Registration Proceedings

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Report on the 10th Annual EFILA Lecture Delivered by Martina Polasek of ICSID: Reflections on the Past and Future Significance of ICSID’s First 1000 Cases

By Hugo Cardona[1] Introduction The 10th Annual EFILA Lecture, held on 25 November 2024 at Queen Mary University of London, represented a significant milestone in EFILA’s series of successful academic events. It provided a forum for an insightful analysis of the evolving landscape of ICSID arbitration. The lecture was delivered by Martina Polasek, who assumed… Read More Report on the 10th Annual EFILA Lecture Delivered by Martina Polasek of ICSID: Reflections on the Past and Future Significance of ICSID’s First 1000 Cases

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Report From the Young EFILA Debate: What is the most significant decision from the first 1,000 ICSID cases?

By Dimitar Arabov[1] On 27 November 2024, Young EFILA organised another successful and thought-provoking debate, held at the London offices of Clyde & Co. The debate focused on identifying the most significant decision from the first 1,000 cases filed under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States… Read More Report From the Young EFILA Debate: What is the most significant decision from the first 1,000 ICSID cases?

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Data as Protected Investment in the Background of Einarsson v. Canada

by Ioana Bratu and Arijit Sanyal[1] As explored in our article “Data as Protected Investment in the Background of Einarsson v. Canada” (IJAL 12:2 2024), on which this post is based: data is increasingly recognised as a significant asset in international investment arbitration. The pending Einarsson v. Canada case[2] addresses the question of whether seismic… Read More Data as Protected Investment in the Background of Einarsson v. Canada

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The Swiss Supreme Court weighs in on Achmea and Komstroy

By Guofang Xue[1] Introduction While the EU and its Member States have decided to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), citing the ECT’s incompatibility with green energy goals, Switzerland remains mindful of such a decision’s potential impact on Swiss energy companies and investment funds. In a landmark judgment dated 3 April 2024 (Case No.… Read More The Swiss Supreme Court weighs in on Achmea and Komstroy

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Saving the Modernized Energy Charter Treaty Helps Save the Climate

by Prof. Nikos Lavranos[1] In June 2022, an agreement “in principle” was achieved among all Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) contracting parties (including the European Union (EU) and all of its Member States) on the modernized ECT text. Withdrawal of the EU and EU Member States from the ECT Despite this agreement “in principle” several EU… Read More Saving the Modernized Energy Charter Treaty Helps Save the Climate

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ISDS Reform: Consensus on the Advisory Centre and First Roadblocks on Establishing a Standing Mechanism

By Cristian Gallorini[1] The 48th session of the UNCITRAL Working Group III (Investor State Arbitration) took place in New York from 1 to 5 April 2024. The discussion focused on the draft statute of an advisory centre on international investment dispute resolution (A/CN.9/WG.III/WP.238), and the draft statute of a standing mechanism for the resolution of… Read More ISDS Reform: Consensus on the Advisory Centre and First Roadblocks on Establishing a Standing Mechanism

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Climate Change Cases Before the European Court of Human Rights: Where Are We Now and Where Might We Be Heading?

By Stephanie Collins[1] and Alexa Romanelli[2] Climate change litigation has a new frontier: proceedings before international courts that are grounded in human rights violations. This blog post focuses on three cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”), the rulings of which are expected on 9 April 2024: (i) KlimaSeniorinnen… Read More Climate Change Cases Before the European Court of Human Rights: Where Are We Now and Where Might We Be Heading?

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