The Future of Enforcement in the UK: English Court provides a novel attitude to State immunity in Border Timbers v Republic of Zimbabwe

by Ioana Maria Bratu[1] On 19 January 2024 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales (EWHC or the English court) dismissed Zimbabwe’s state immunity argument to set aside the 2015 $125m ICSID arbitration award in Border Timbers Limited & Anor v Republic of Zimbabwe ([2024] EWHC 58 (Comm)). While the Court ultimately sided… Read More The Future of Enforcement in the UK: English Court provides a novel attitude to State immunity in Border Timbers v Republic of Zimbabwe

A Metamorphosis of Mindset: How International Investment Arbitration Has Evolved Without Major Institutional Reform

By Paul Uranga[1] Introduction “As [the investment arbitration] awoke one morning from uneasy dreams [it] found itself transformed”. Drawing from the opening line of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’, this echoes the transformation undergone in investment arbitration. But, unlike Gregor Samsa, the novella’s protagonist, this shift didn’t occur overnight and remains far from complete. After more… Read More A Metamorphosis of Mindset: How International Investment Arbitration Has Evolved Without Major Institutional Reform

Revisiting the Blusun dictum: A Roadmap for a Proportionality Analysis of the Breach of Stability in the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard

By Cristian Gallorini[1] Legal stability and predictability are core elements of the rule of law. In the case of foreign investments in renewable energy (RE) the concept of stability imbues distinct aspects of the investment cycle, including the arbitrability of disputes. First, stability of the investment conditions is fundamental to foreign investors. Second, International Investment… Read More Revisiting the Blusun dictum: A Roadmap for a Proportionality Analysis of the Breach of Stability in the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard

Untapped Potential of MFN Clauses: an MFN clause to invoke another “more” MFN clause

By Danilo Ruggero Di Bella[1] On the premise that not all most-favoured-nation (MFN) clauses are created equal, this piece will explore whether it is possible to combine an MFN clause with a more favourable MFN clause contained in another treaty. The objective of doing so, would be to invoke another provision in that treaty (or… Read More Untapped Potential of MFN Clauses: an MFN clause to invoke another “more” MFN clause

Young ISDS Club – ICSID and UNCITRAL Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in ISDS disputes

By Suksham Chauhan, International Arbitration Trainee, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Paris   Young ISDS Club for the second time provided a great platform for a very engaging and interesting discussion on 8 June 2020. The Young ISDS Club remained steadfast to its core value of open discussion. It was a most candid discussion where participants… Read More Young ISDS Club – ICSID and UNCITRAL Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in ISDS disputes

Investment Tribunals Are Too Quick to Establish the Existence of Issue and Cause of Action Estoppel in International (Investment) Law

Alexandros-Cătălin Bakos[1] There is no denying that there is a serious backlash against investment arbitration at the moment. The signs are everywhere: from the latest discussions occurring within UNCITRAL’s Working Group III to the more recent practice of states (see the 22 European Union Member States’ declaration concerning the termination of their intra-EU Bilateral Investment… Read More Investment Tribunals Are Too Quick to Establish the Existence of Issue and Cause of Action Estoppel in International (Investment) Law

A Meeting of the Two Worlds: The Human Rights Regime and International Investment Law – A Critique of Urbaser v. Argentina

Priya Garg* A plethora of cases have been filed before investment tribunals regarding the issue of interaction or conflict between human rights obligations of investor or State and his or its, as the case may be, duties under international investment law (hereinafter, IIL).[1] The recent case of Urbaser v. Argentina only joins this already long… Read More A Meeting of the Two Worlds: The Human Rights Regime and International Investment Law – A Critique of Urbaser v. Argentina

The Relationship between EU State Aid law and Obligations Arising under Investment Treaties

by Alexandros Catalin Bakos, LL.M  I. Introduction: In recent years, a series of debates have emerged in regard to the relationship between the EU State Aid law[1], on the one hand, and obligations arising under Investment Treaties (to which the EU is not a formal party)[2], on the other hand. Those debates manifest themselves at… Read More The Relationship between EU State Aid law and Obligations Arising under Investment Treaties