Resources and Events
Resources published between February and May 2017; events between June and August 2017
Resources published between February and May 2017; events between June and August 2017
SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules come into effect; new SCC rules include appendix on investment treaty disputes On January 1, 2017, the Investment Arbitration Rules of the Singapore Investment Arbitration Centre […]
ICSID tribunal dismisses claims brought against Indonesia based on forged mining licences Churchill Mining PLC and Planet Mining Pty Ltd v. Republic of Indonesia, ICSID Case No. ARB/12/14 and ICSID […]
Resources Treaty Shopping in International Investment Law By Jorun Baumgartner, Published by Oxford University Press, February 2017 The book examines the practice of treaty shopping—the strategic change of nationality or […]
Trump election affects mega-regional negotiations including TTIP, TPP and RCEP
Brazil and India initial Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT); text yet to be published
CETA signed; Canada and European Union to “work expeditiously” on creating a Multilateral Investment Court
Venezuela to Pay Us$1 Billion For Expropriating Canadian Mining Company’s Investment
ICSID Tribunal dismisses MFN Clause in WTO GATS as a means of importing Senegal’s consent to arbitration from third party BIT
PCA tribunal deemed acts of Polish Agricultural Property Agency not attributable to Poland
Claimant not considered Investor due to interpretation of “Seat” under Cyprus–Montenegro BIT
Ecuador’s Levy on extraordinary oil profits at a 99% rate has breached Murphy’s legitimate expectations, decides PCA tribunal
Ecuador ordered by PCA tribunal to pay $24 million to Canadian Mining Company
US$50 billion awards against Russia in Yukos Cases are set aside by Dutch Court
TTIP draft to be prepared by July; ISDS being built based on both EU and US proposals
China – US BIT: ISDS to be included; ongoing negotiations on negative lists
Three mining disputes: The first investment disputes against Colombia come to light
Canada-European Union CETA re-concluded in February to incorporate the EU ICS proposal
Second ICSID claim filed against Uruguay; Philip Morris decision still pending
Singapore International Arbitration centre releases investment arbitration rules
ICSID Tribunal Awards Damages for Venezuela’s Indirect Expropriation of Steel Industry Investment
The first ICSID case against Guinea is dismissed for lack of Jurisdiction
Slovenia is condemned to pay 20 million euros in damagesand US$10 million in costs to Croatian National Electric Company
The only known investment treaty arbitration against Equatorial Guinea fails on jurisdictional grounds
ICSID tribunal orders Zimbabwe to return expropriated farms
UNCTAD Global Investment Trends Monitor No. 23
Switzerland’s Investment Treaties: Time for a change
Investment Court System Put To The Test: New EU proposal will perpetuate investors’ attacks on health and environment
IIA Issues Note: Taking stock of IIA reform
Alternative Visions of the International Law on Foreign Investment: Essays in honour of Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah
Rethinking Bilateral Investment Treaties: Critical issues and policy choices
The WTO and International Investment Law: Converging systems
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Part I: A deal too far
Sustainability Impacts of Chinese Outward Direct Investment: A review of the literature
Shifting Paradigms in International Investment Law: More balanced, less isolated, increasingly diversified
Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement signed in Auckland; UN independent expert calls on states to safeguard regulatory space On February 4, 2016, trade ministers from twelve Pacific Rim nations met in Auckland, […]
ICSID tribunal dismisses final claim for compensation in relation to Hungary’s 2008 termination of power purchase agreement Electrabel S.A. v. Republic of Hungary, ICSID Case No. ARB/07/1 Matthew Levine [*] A […]
Resources published between October 2015 and March 2016; events between February and April 2016
Resources published between July and October 2015; events between November 2015 and January 2016
Resources The Origins of International Investment Law: Empire, environment and the safeguarding of capital By Kate Miles, Published by Cambridge University Press, July 2015 This book examines the historical evolution […]
European Commission addresses TTIP concerns at European Parliament meeting At a March 18, 2015 meeting at the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström presented four “preliminary […]
UNCITRAL tribunal finds Canada’s environmental assessment breached international minimum standard of treatment and national treatment standard William Ralph Clayton, William Richard Clayton, Douglas Clayton, Daniel Clayton and Bilcon of Delaware […]
Resources IISD Handbook on Mining Contract Negotiations for Developing Countries, Volume I: Preparing for Success By Howard Mann, Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, April 2015 Recognizing the […]
Although finding largely in favour of Venezuela, ICSID tribunal awards US$1.4 billion to Exxon-Mobil for 2007 expropriations Venezuela Holdings, B.V., Mobil Cerro Negro Holding, Ltd., Mobil Venezolana de Petroleos Holdings, […]
European Commission consultation shows public rejection of investor–state dispute settlement On January 13, the European Commission published a report and an accompanying memo analyzing the results of its consultation on […]
Resources IISD Best Practices Series: Performance Requirements in Investment Treaties By Suzy H. Nikièma, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, December 2014 The paper surveys the types of […]
Yukos shareholders awarded record damages in two separate proceedings against Russia Martin Dietrich Brauch In two separate proceedings, shareholders of the defunct Russian oil and gas company OAO Neftyanaya Kompaniya […]
New European Commissioners suggest that ISDS may be shut out of the TTIP The new President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said on October 22, 2014 that there is […]
More than 50 high-level representatives from governments, including ministers, as well as senior business representatives, international and civil society organizations convened in Geneva, Switzerland on October 16, 2014, to address […]
Resources The IISD Guide to Negotiating Investment Contracts for Farmland and Water By Carin Smaller, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, November 2014 The IISD Guide to Negotiating […]
Investment treaties are often criticised for being too ‘investor-friendly.’ With this in mind, it becomes important to clarify the mechanisms available to host states to defend against investment treaty claims. One such mechanism is found in the provisions included in many investment treaties, to the effect that investors must comply with host state law in order for their investment to enjoy treaty protection.
Download PDF – 682 KB Summarized in this article: Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus) v. The Russian Federation (PCA Case No. AA 226) Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) v. The […]
Resources World Investment Report 2014 United Nations Conference on Trade and Sustainable Development, June 2014 UNCTAD’s World Investment Report is an annual publication that focuses on trends in foreign direct […]
Opposition to investor-state arbitration in TTIP grows The European Commission is being asked why investor-state arbitration provisions should be included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which has […]
Majority clears Peru of any wrongdoing in relation to close down of French-owned bank; dissenting arbitrator says that majority misconstrued facts and law Renée Rose Levy de Levi v. Republic of […]
While there is a fair amount of scholarly work on the determinants of expropriation, we know less about the political and economic conditions under which the broader category of investor-state disputes take place. This article provides a statistical analysis of political and economic factors that contribute to the likelihood of an investor-state dispute; and a qualitative coding of measures which have resulted in arbitration cases.
Several States have terminated bilateral investment treaties as they came up for renewal. The effectiveness of BIT termination, however, is limited by the “survival clauses” that are frequently included in IIAs. These provisions state that even after the treaty is terminated it will continue to apply to investments that were made while the treaty was in force for an additional 10 or 15 years.
Resources Recent Development’s in Investor-State Dispute Settlement United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, April 2014 UNCTAD’s annual review of investor-State dispute settlement cases, part of the IIA Issues Notes […]
ICSID tribunal finds jurisdiction over mining license dispute involving British and Australian companies in Indonesia Churchill Mining Plc v. Republic of Indonesia ICSID Case No. & Planet Mining Pty Ltd […]
UNCITRAL launches new transparency registry The UNCITRAL Secretariat has established a transparency registry[1] that will function as a repository for the publication of information and documents in treaty-based investor-State arbitration. […]
Australia changes position on investor-state arbitration in free trade agreement with Korea The Australian government has agreed to investor-state arbitration in the investment chapter of a free trade agreement with […]
Libya ordered to pay US$935 million to Kuwaiti company for cancelled investment project; jurisdiction established under Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital Mohamed Abdulmohsen Al-Kharafi & Sons Co. […]
Resources United Kingdom Assessment of the Costs and Benefits of Investment Protection Treaties United Kingdom Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, November 2013 Three new reports commissioned by the Government […]
With governments around the world pushing efforts to negotiate and approve mega-investment treaties, it is important to be clear on just what these investment treaties do and do not mean. This article compares U.S. domestic law and international treaty rules on state liability for regulatory changes. It shows that arbitral tribunals have interpreted investment treaty rules in a manner far more favorable to the interests of investors than the approaches adopted in U.S. courts.
The BRIC States and Outward Foreign Direct Investment By David Collins, Oxford University Press, 2013 This book examines the relatively recent and under-explored phenomenon of outward foreign direct investment from […]
Claim against Turkmenistan dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; claimant failed to abide by domestic litigation requirement Kılıç İnşaat İthalat İhracat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi v. Turkmenistan, ICSID Case No. […]
South African trade minister confirms denunciation of EU BITs South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, confirmed that his government was terminating investment treaties with Belgium, Luxembourg and […]
National investment boards or agencies operate in several countries with a view to attract foreign investment. Towards this objective, they often maintain websites highlighting the advantages of investing in their country. This article surveys some common categories of representations and promises made on the websites of national investment boards and discusses their potential legal implications.
There are many reasons to strike the draft TPP Investment Chapter, a chapter that restricts government sovereignty to regulate business activities while simultaneously ceding de facto regulatory power to foreign investors and private arbitrators. The Eli Lilly claim against clarifies the risks of including IP rights in investment chapters and the boundary-pushing claims that can be brought on behalf of foreign pharmaceutical companies.
In July 2013, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a package of rules aiming to ensure transparency in investor-State arbitration, ratifying the work done by delegations to UNCITRAL—comprised of 55 Member States, additional observer States and observer organizations—over the course of nearly three years of negotiations. With the adoption of the new rules, there is now a carefully negotiated and widely approved template that can serve as a model for how to conduct investor-State arbitrations transparently.
Limited breach of FET clause established in claim against Romania; No damages awarded The Rompetrol Group N.V. v Romania, ICSID Case No. ARB/06/3 Margaret Devaney In a May 6, 2013 […]
European Commission seeks permission to begin investment treaty negotiations with China The European Commission has proposed a negotiating mandate to EU member states for an investment agreement with China. This […]
This brief article describes some important aspects of the draft investment chapter of the Canada-EU CETA, as well as commentary on the potential implications should Canada and EU sign on to these provisions.