Topic: ISDS reform

The 13th Investment Treaty Arbitration Conference in Prague saw sessions on investor obligations, judicial expropriation, the new code of conduct for arbitrators in investment disputes, and the prospect of a world without investment arbitration.

19 December 2023

An ICSID tribunal has declined to throw out a claim brought by Dutch investors against Croatia, rejecting the state’s arguments that its bilateral investment treaty with the Netherlands was effectively terminated under EU law. 

09 November 2023

A UN report has severely criticised the impact of investment arbitration on climate action and human rights – calling it “not fit for purpose in the twenty-first century” and recommending states withdraw their consent to arbitration under investment treaties.

02 November 2023

Following the set-aside of a US$11 billion award against Nigeria, Lord Hoffmann – who chaired the tribunal – has stood by comments he made earlier this year, reflecting on “the great miasma of dishonesty” that can exist in the background of a case of which arbitrators are “unaware”.

27 October 2023

Nigerian senior advocate Olasupo Shasore, who was accused by his country of accepting bribes to deliberately under-perform as lead counsel in its arbitration with P&ID, has been cleared of corruption by the Commercial Court in London.

27 October 2023

Practitioners have been reacting to the landmark decision by the Commercial Court in London to set aside a US$11 billion award against Nigeria on grounds of fraud – reflecting on its impact and asking whether there are lessons to be learned. 

27 October 2023

The UK government has said it is considering withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty if signatories fail to adopt a modernised version of the treaty later this year.

01 September 2023

In an EFILA keynote speech that considered the challenges posed by climate change, Wendy Miles KC of Twenty Essex argued that investment arbitration is not an obstacle to a net-zero economy but that its role must be rethought to fully deliver social justice. Nicholas Lawn and Trajan Shipley of Van Bael and Bellis report.

24 April 2023

UNCITRAL’s working group III has completed work on a draft code of conduct for arbitrators in investor-state disputes after reaching a compromise on double-hatting.

04 April 2023

Dechert partner Claudia Annacker used a keynote lecture in Prague to address fragmentation and integration in investment law. Jaroslav Kudrna and Alžběta Bělova of the Czech Ministry of Finance report.

22 December 2022