The Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), available here, is a multilateral agreement. It was signed in December 1994 and entered into force on 16 April 1998. It created a multilateral framework for energy long-term cooperation between its members. The Energy Charter Treaty was preceded by the European Energy Charter adopted in December 1991, under which signatories […]
How to File an ICSID Request for Arbitration
The filing of a Request for Arbitration before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute (the “Centre” or the “ICSID”) is a crucial and relatively straightforward step. In 2019, the ICSID Secretary-General received 39 requests for arbitration.[1] Almost all arbitration rules, including the ICSID Arbitral Rules,[2] provide that a party wishing to […]
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Investment Arbitration
As the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has already impacted over 150 countries worldwide, it is hard to imagine that investment arbitration will not be impacted. While the future remains uncertain, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to violate various protections provided in bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) and may bring rise to claims […]
Bifurcation in Investment Arbitration
In investment arbitration, it is rather common for arbitral tribunals to deal with preliminary issues prior to any consideration of the merits of a case. In such scenarios, the main question is whether to asses these issues together with other matters to be ruled upon in the final award or to deal with them in […]
Third-Party Funding under ICSID Amendments: Balance Between States’ and Investors’ Interests
Over the past decade, the use of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) mechanisms to challenge public policies has been a topic of attention and pressure from Non-Governmental Organizations and States to reform ISDS has increased.[1] This has led to proposals for amendment of the ICSID Rules. Working Paper #3, containing the latest proposals, may be found […]