Contracts

Corruption and confidentiality in contract-based ISDS: The case of P&ID v Nigeria

This article examines a contract-based dispute, P&ID v. Nigeria, which highlights issues of corruption and lack of transparency in this type of dispute settlement. It concludes that, given the significant public interests at stake in investor–state arbitration, including the possibility that arbitration may facilitate the corrupt transfer of public funds to private actors, they should not be conducted in private.

State Responsibility for Breaches of Investment Contracts

This work seeks to address the need for a detailed study that investigates and analyzes the sources, the content, the characteristics and the evolution of the law of state responsibility for breaches of investment contracts.

The only known investment treaty arbitration against Equatorial Guinea fails on jurisdictional grounds

A majority tribunal at the Additional Facility (AF) of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) dismissed the case of Spanish construction company Grupo Francisco Hernando Contreras, S.L. (Contreras Group) against Equatorial Guinea, in an award dated December 4, 2015.

Farmland Investments and Water Rights in Africa: The Legal Regimes Converging over Land and Water

Access to water is the driving force behind the surge in foreign investment in farmland. Yet, with all the focus on “land grabbing” and food security, water issues have received little attention. It is vital to understand all applicable legal regimes and the rights of all stakeholders.

Going public to improve investment in agriculture

The public began to hunger for information about investment in the agriculture sector when a massive wave of foreign investment in farmland and water was triggered, in 2008, by a […]

Rethinking investor-state contracts through a sustainable development lens

In recent years, economic liberalisation, improved transport and communication systems, and the global demand for energy, minerals and agricultural commodities have fostered investment in agriculture, mining and petroleum projects in […]

Awards  |  September 22, 2008

Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Occidental Exploration and Production Company v. the Republic of Ecuador: US oil company passes jurisdictional hurdle in arbitration with Ecuador

By Damon Vis-Dunbar 22 September 2008 A tribunal has accepted jurisdiction in a dispute that pits two petroleum companies against the Government of Ecuador, allowing the case to proceed to […]