Topic: ISDS reform

Amid efforts to modernise ISDS, and with investors and states often settling disputes before an arbitration award, the launch event of the Council of International Dispute Resolution of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Riyadh explored way to promote more amicable resolution of disputes through negotiation or mediation.

12 March 2025

Lord Bellamy KC, the former UK justice minister who led efforts to reform the country’s arbitration act, has argued in a GAR Live keynote speech that the new bill should not address potential corruption in arbitral proceedings – warning against a “kneejerk reaction” to the P&ID case.

16 October 2024

After Toby Landau KC told delegates at GAR Live Singapore that the current system of investor-state arbitration was “inherently problematic”, a subsequent panel considered the alternatives – after which not a single member of the audience said they believed the world would be better off without investor-state dispute resolution.

05 September 2024

In a speech in Baku, Azerbaijan, where COP29 will take place later this year, Alexis Mourre considered how investor-state dispute settlement can be made to align with climate change goals, with reference to recent Energy Charter Treaty cases.

13 August 2024

The fifth edition of the Bucharest Arbitration Days included panels addressing ethics and conflicts of interest, the relationship with the courts, how institutions make appointments, modernisation of investment contracts and efforts to reform ISDS. 

09 July 2024

In a long-awaited development, the Council of the European Union has authorised the EU to sign the Mauritius Convention on transparency in ISDS. 

26 June 2024

French jurist and arbitrator Alain Pellet used the third annual McNair Lecture in London to deliver a frank critique of investor-state arbitration, highlighting “seven deadly sins” including excessively long decisions, overreliance on experts and “Americanised” procedure.

08 May 2024

The Japan Association of Arbitrators (JAA) Arbitration Day 2024 addressed the evolving landscape of investor-state dispute settlement, including the latest advances in investor-state arbitration and mediation. Shota Toda of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu reports.

22 April 2024

Following Toby Landau KCʼs Alexander Lecture, members of the audience debated his idea about the need to re-politicise investor-state arbitration in light of the expanding nature of disputes, allowing more consideration of context and input from stakeholders. 

12 April 2024

The documentary film which inspired Toby Landau KC’s Alexander Lecture provides “a rare look” at the human impact of arbitration and has been declared “essential viewing” for arbitrators and arbitration practitioners by critics of investor-state dispute settlement.

12 April 2024