Arbitration rewards procedural vigilance. A party that believes a tribunal lacks jurisdiction usually cannot stay silent, contest the merits, and only later invoke the objection if the case turns unfavourable. Typical jurisdictional objections that may be raised in arbitration include: No valid arbitration agreement; A party is not bound by the arbitration agreement; The tribunal […]
Devas v. Antrix: Dutch Enforcement and the Limits of Seat-Based Annulment
With the Dutch Supreme Court’s 6 March 2026 dismissal of Antrix’s cassation challenge, attention has once again turned to one of the most closely watched India-linked arbitration disputes in recent years. The dismissal leaves in place the Hague Court of Appeal’s 17 December 2024 judgment in Devas Multimedia America Inc. v. Antrix Corporation Ltd., permitting […]
What Options Remain for Investor-State Arbitration Under the ECT?
This note deals with the current legal framework of investor-State arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty (the “ECT”). The landscape of the application of the ECT has become blurry after several major developments in recent years: withdrawals, modernisation of the ECT, not to mention the impact of the Komstroy decision,[1] which has by no means […]
London Commercial Court: ICSID Awards Are Not Assignable (Operafund v Spain)
In Operafund Eco-Invest SICAV Plc and Schwab Holding AG v Kingdom of Spain [2025] EWHC 2874 (Comm), the English Commercial Court held that awards rendered under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“ICSID Convention”) or the Energy Charter Treaty 1994 (“ECT”) are not assignable to third […]
UNCITRAL Code of Conduct for Arbitrators
The UNCITRAL Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution (the “UNCITRAL Code of Conduct”) recalibrates ethical expectations in investor-state dispute settlement. Adopted in 2023 under UN General Assembly Resolution 78/105 after six years of work in UNCITRAL Working Group III, it is a voluntary soft law instrument.[1] Accordingly, it sets recommended standards […]