Protests. News bulletins. Calls for treaty reform and withdrawal. In a political and economic climate of a potential post-arbitration age, governments and communities are in the throes of debate. Going forward, however, leaders would be mindful to learn from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its recent ICSID debacle when it faced two series […]
Transparency in Investment Arbitration
Transparency in Investment Arbitration: Entry into Force of the Mauritius Convention On 18 April 2017 Switzerland became the third UN Member State to ratify the 2015 United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (“The Mauritius Convention”). The Mauritius Convention reaffirmed the 2014 UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (UNCITRAL Rules), and […]
GRAND RIVER ENTERPRISES FIVE NATIONS LTD. ET AL. V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Award of 12 January 2011
In this NAFTA case, Claimants included Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., a Canadian corporation involved in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products, Messrs. Jerry Montour and Kenneth Hill (Canadian nationals) and Mr. Arthur Montour, Jr., of Seneca Nations Territory, Perrysburg, New York. The Claimants filed arbitration claims against several States of the USA […]
HULLEY ENTERPRISES LIMITED (CYPRUS) V. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (PCA CASE NO. AA226) – FINAL AWARD 18 July 2014
The Yukos group of companies, whose controlling shareholders were OAO Yukos Oil Company, Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus), Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) and Veteran Petroleum Limited (Cyprus), was supposed to benefit from tax exemptions. However, in 2002, these exemptions were revoked at the Closed Administrative Territorial Units (“ZATOs”). Then, starting in 2003, Yukos suffered […]
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 […]