International arbitrator immunity is typically provided for in domestic legal regimes. As noted by commentators, “almost all contemporary national arbitration regimes provide international arbitrators with expansive statutory or common law immunities from civil claims based on the performance of their adjudicative functions”[1] for the reason that “[Arbitrators] must of necessity be uninfluenced by any fear of consequences […]
Limitations on Post-Award Remedies under the ICC Rules
There are limitations on post-award remedies under the ICC Rules because one of the main reasons that private parties seek to have disputes resolved via international arbitration rather than national courts is the final and binding nature of arbitral awards. Due to human beings’ fallibility, “all arbitral awards, like all national court judgments and academic treatises, […]
Philip Morris Arbitration Award Made Public
The Philip Morris arbitration award rendered by arbitrators Professor Don McRae, Professor Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler and Dr. Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel as presiding arbitrator, has finally been made public. The controversial arbitration was brought by Philip Morris in response to Australia’s plain packaging legislation for cigarettes. On 18 December 2015, the arbitration tribunal decided that it had no […]
Limits to the Police Powers Doctrine
According to the police powers doctrine, host States may enforce their laws against the foreign investors without being liable of any wrongdoing. For example, a host State may revoke a concession granted to an investor if the latter does not comply with laws of the former. The tribunal in Quiborax v. Bolivia agreed with the […]
The Success Rate of Investment Arbitration Claims
Many foreign investors would quite naturally like to know the success rate of investment arbitration claims, and whether or not they should expect to win a case, prior to spending three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars on the fees of arbitrators, arbitral institutions, experts and lawyers. While the chances of success of each case of course depend […]