ITN Quarterly June 2024
Insights A Proposal for Reforming the Calculation of Damages in Investment-Treaty Arbitration, by Martin Jarrett Awards and Decisions Páramos protection-related case decided in favour of Colombia, this time (Red Eagle […]
Current Issue
A Proposal for Reforming the Calculation of Damages in Investment Treaty Arbitration
The Significance of Causation in Investment Treaty Arbitration Causation is a core component of responsibility, whether legal or moral. Blame will usually only be placed on a person when their […]
Páramos protection-related case decided in favour of Colombia, this time
Red Eagle Exploration Limited v. Republic of Colombia, Award, ICSID Case No. ARB/18/12 Red Eagle v. Colombia is the third arbitration related to Colombia’s efforts to protect the páramos ecosystems, […]
ICSID tribunal rules that emission trading allowances do not constitute “protected” investments under NAFTA
Koch Industries, Inc. and Koch Supply and Trading, LP v. Canada, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/52, Award, March 13, 2024 Summary In an award rendered on March 13, 2024, an ICSID […]
ICSID tribunal concludes Bulgaria breached the ECT through frustration of legitimate expectations and awards damages. Will this award push Bulgaria toward withdrawing from the ECT?
ACF Renewable Energy Limited v. Republic of Bulgaria (ICSID Case No. ARB/18/1) The investors ACF, a company incorporated under Maltese law, was founded shortly before acquiring an investment in Bulgaria. […]
Clarification of the legitimate expectations of investors in relation to the stability of regulatory frameworks
Scholz holding Gmbh c. Royaume du Maroc, award, ICSID n° ARB/19/2 In recent years, investors have frequently invoked the notion of legitimate expectations in alleging a breach of a state’s […]
EU withdrawal from ECT
On May 30, 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted a set of decisions greenlighting the withdrawal of the EU and Euratom from the ECT. The step follows several […]
UK withdraws from ECT, as does Ireland
On April 26, 2024, the United Kingdom notified its withdrawal from the ECT. This follows an earlier announcement of this step by the British government in February, in which Minister […]
EU CSDDD adopted
On April 24, 2024, the European Parliament voted to adopt the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), following months of negotiations between EU institutions and member states. While such an […]
Ecuador Referendum
In a referendum on Sunday, April 21, the citizens of Ecuador emphatically voted to keep Article 422 of the country’s 2008 constitution, which prevents Ecuador from using international arbitration to […]
ICSID Appoints New Secretary-General
On April 30, 2024, ICSID’s Administrative Council appointed Martina Polasek as the new ICSID Secretary General. Her term begins on July 1, 2024, when she succeeds Meg Kinnear, who served […]
ITLOS Advisory Opinion
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has delivered its much-awaited advisory opinion regarding climate change obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea […]
The European Court of Human Rights finds that Switzerland violated its climate change-related obligations under the Convention
In a landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland was not acting timely, sufficiently, and consistently to fulfill its positive obligations under the European Convention on […]
Swiss Federal Tribunal upholds intra-EU ECT award
As opposed to the approaches taken by various EU member states’ courts (see, e.g., here), the Swiss Federal Tribunal upheld an intra-EU investment award based on the ECT. The highest […]
Another tribunal to reject the Achmea-based jurisdictional objection
Adria Group B.V. and Adria Group Holding B.V. v. The Republic of Croatia, Decision on Intra-EU Jurisdictional Objection, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/6
UNCITRAL tribunal finds Russia liable to pay USD 207.8 million for the unlawful expropriation of the assets of a Ukrainian electricity company
JSC DTEK Krymenergo v Russia, PCA Case No. 2018-41, Award, November 1, 2023
UN General Assembly Resolution on Tax Convention
Based on a draft resolution submitted by Nigeria on behalf of the African Group, the recent United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution on the UN tax treaty aims to bolster […]
European Commission publishes model BIT clauses between EU member states and third countries
In September 2023, the European Commission has unveiled a non-paper presenting model clauses for BITs between EU member states and third countries. These model clauses, accompanied by annotations, aim to […]
UNCITRAL Working Group III continued its work in Vienna during its 46th session
In October 2023, UNCITRAL delegates to Working Group III gathered again in Vienna to continue their work on ISDS reform. Two topics were discussed—(i) draft provisions on the establishment of […]
UNCTAD’s World Investment Forum
From October 15 to 20, 2023, UNCTAD organized its eighth World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi. The World Investment Forum highlighted global investment challenges and opportunities. Discussions focused on sustainable […]
British court upholds Nigeria’s challenge against controversial mega-award
The English High Court upheld Nigeria’s challenge against controversial awards in favour of Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) by finding significant irregularities in the arbitration process. The arbitration awards […]
High-profile coal phase-out intra-EU arbitration discontinued
As we reported earlier, in 2021, the German energy company RWE filed for a controversial ECT arbitration challenging the Netherlands’ coal phase-out. In the context of the arbitration, the Netherlands […]
EU respondent in one of the arbitrations brought by an oil-refining group
EU appears as a respondent in one of the three arbitrations brought by oil-refining companies belonging to Klesch Group (here, here, and here). It has been reported that the trio […]
Billionaire Clive Palmer files another arbitration against Australia
The Singapore company Zeph Investments Pte, owned by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, has reportedly filed a notice of intention to commence arbitration against Australia based on the Singapore–Australia Free Trade […]
Resources
Complex Designers and Emergent Design: Reforming the Investment Treaty System Anthea Roberts and Taylor St John, American Journal of International Law, 116(1), 96–149. Sept 2021 Available here. Overview of Contract […]