Category: Articles

Across the Strait: The Case for a Special EU-Taiwan Trade and Investment Partnership

  by Horia Ciurtin LL.M., Managing Editor of the EFILA Blog* Not Just a Bridgehead: Mercantile Reflections on EU’s Taiwan Position  At the crossroads of global trade, Taiwan represents a hot spot that unites the flows of goods and capital from near mainland China, from the South-East Asian cauldron, as well as a bridgehead for Western transoceanic… Read More Across the Strait: The Case for a Special EU-Taiwan Trade and Investment Partnership

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ICSID Complaint as Alternative to Supplemental Filing

by Zoltán S. Novák, TaylorWessing We are used to thinking of international investment arbitration as a remedy against unlawful nationalization, expropriation, and other high-profile state acts depriving a foreign investor of his or her investment. It is pretty rare that the unfair treatment the investor complains about is limited to a simple court order requesting… Read More ICSID Complaint as Alternative to Supplemental Filing

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Brexit: Implications for the EU Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Sophie Nappert, 3 Verulam Buildings Nikos Lavranos, EFILA “Reproduced from Practical Law with the permission of the publishers. For further information visit www.practicallaw.com or call 020 7542 6664.” Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is an international arbitration mechanism that allows an investor from one country to bring arbitral proceedings directly against the state in which it has… Read More Brexit: Implications for the EU Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement

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Avoiding ISDS: National Contact Points for Investor Guidelines and Mediation

by Tabe van Hoolwerff*  Imagine, you are an EU trade minister and you want to attract foreign investors by offering a stable investment climate. At the same time, you also want to avoid potential claims arising from government measures that seek to protect the environment or labor standards – a fear your non-business stakeholders have been… Read More Avoiding ISDS: National Contact Points for Investor Guidelines and Mediation

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Russian Sanctions against Turkey and BIT Claims

by Orçun Çetinkaya, Moroğlu Arseven Following the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey on 24 November 2015, Russian-Turkey relations have entered into a new phase. Russia imposed a series of economic measures and sanctions against Turkey. Turkish individuals and companies who invested in Russia where they spent decades have been negatively affected from those measures. There… Read More Russian Sanctions against Turkey and BIT Claims

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The Lack of Any Legal Conflict Between EU Law and Intra-EU BITs/ECT Disputes

 by Dr. Nikos Lavranos LLM, Secretary General of EFILA* A couple of weeks ago the first award in the series of more than 25 other solar energy cases against Spain was issued. The case was brought by two companies based in Luxembourg and the Netherlands against Spain on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)… Read More The Lack of Any Legal Conflict Between EU Law and Intra-EU BITs/ECT Disputes

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ISDS Novelty Overlooked Or Novelty Outdated?

by Emma Spiteri-Gonzi* Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a procedural mechanism provided for in international investment agreements such as bilateral investment treaties (BITs) or multi-lateral investment treaties (MITs). ISDS allows an investor from one country to institute proceedings against the country where their investments where made- the Host State. So, has this novelty been overlooked… Read More ISDS Novelty Overlooked Or Novelty Outdated?

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The Shortcomings of the Proposal for an “International Court System” (ICS)

by Dr. Nikos Lavranos LLM, Secretary General of EFILA* During 2015 it became clear that the European Commission was under mounting pressure from the European Parliament (EP), Trade Ministers of several EU Member States, anti-ISDS NGOs and the media to propose more “reforms” of the investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) system that is contained in CETA and… Read More The Shortcomings of the Proposal for an “International Court System” (ICS)

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Redefining the ‘Centre’: International Economic Law and Grand Strategy in a Multipolar World

by Horia Ciurtin LL.M., Managing Editor of the EFILA Blog* (Legal) Multipolarity Revisited: What Lies Beyond Westphalia? This brief introduction to such an ambitious thematic must undoubtedly commence by positing its adherence to the (non-legal) core concept of ‘grand strategy’ and its realist avatars in international economic law. More precisely, it shall be argued that –… Read More Redefining the ‘Centre’: International Economic Law and Grand Strategy in a Multipolar World

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