The authority of arbitral tribunals to grant interim or provisional measures in international investment arbitration is today uncontested and represents current practice[1]. This “inherent power”[2] of arbitral tribunals is encompassed in multiple investment arbitration instruments, such as Article 47 of the ICSID Convention, Article 39 of the ICSID Arbitration Rules, Article 26 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and Article 1134 of the […]
Sales Representative (Iraq) v. Manufacturer (France), ICC Case No. 16684, Final Award (2012)
This ICC arbitral award concerns the notion of estoppel and a Representation Agreement between the parties, and whether a contract was valid and enforceable despite a United Nations embargo, with respect to a contract under Swiss law. While the contract was being performed, an Iraq embargo was ordered by the United Nations following the invasion […]
BG GROUP PLC. V. REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA – CASE NO. U.S. 12-138 (2014) – U.S. SUPREME COURT
In this dispute, the Claimant was part of a consortium owning majority shares in MetroGas, for the distribution of natural gas in Buenos Aires. Before the 2001 financial crisis, Argentinean law provided that gas tariffs were calculated in US dollars for profitable returns. However, the crisis led to emergency measures, one of which implemented a […]
Irreparable Damage and Interim Measures: ENCANA CORP. v. GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR (LCIA, Interim Award, Request for Interim Measures of Protection – 2004)
In the well-known case Encana v. Ecuador, the Arbitral Tribunal refused to order interim measures on the basis of there being no irreparable damage. On January 8, 2004, Claimant requested an urgent hearing of an application for interim relief regarding the enforcement of certain measures that the Ecuadorian government had taken against one of its […]
Customer (Italy) v. Service provider (Switzerland), Final Award CAM Case No. 1115/16, 10 December 2015
This case relates to the issue of the validity of a contract between two parties involved in an international arbitration under the arbitration rules of the Milan Chamber of Arbitration. In the case, the Claimant filed for a request for arbitration before the Chamber of Arbitration in Milan seeking damages for the termination of the […]