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 […]
The Presumption of Separability in International Arbitration
The presumption of separability in international arbitration means that the validity of an international arbitration agreement is separate and analyzed independently from the rest of a contract. It may be the case that only the arbitration agreement itself is valid while the rest of the contract is not, or vice versa. This presumption is recognized […]
Bias in International Arbitration
One of the most acclaimed aspects of international arbitration is its neutrality, but charges of bias in international arbitration are frequent. Arbitrators constituting an international tribunal must be independent and free from any bias. In case of doubt, any party can challenge the independence of an arbitrator after being appointed. Bias can be real, which […]
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 […]