The prohibition of discriminatory, unreasonable and/or arbitrary measures affecting investors’ investments normally figures among the protection standards provided by bilateral or multilateral investment treaties. Although it is considered as an independent basis for a finding of State responsibility, some arbitral tribunals have considered that the standard of protection against arbitrariness or discrimination is closely linked […]
Interim Measures in International Arbitration: A Need for Irreparable Harm?
It is a well-established rule of international arbitration that arbitral tribunals have the power to grant interim or conservatory measures. This is explicitly provided in all major arbitration rules (see, e.g., Article 28 of the 2017 ICC Rules, Article 25.1 of the 2014 LCIA Rules, Article 26 of the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules, Rule 30 of […]
Intra-EU Arbitrations and the Enforcement of ICSID Awards in the United States: the Impact of Achmea
The ICSID Convention requires signatories to treat arbitral awards rendered according to the ICSID framework as if they were a final judgment of a court in that State.[1] To challenge an award, the claimant shall seek review within the ICSID arbitral regime, rather than before State courts.[2] To implement the Convention, the U.S. Congress in […]
Intra-EU Investment Arbitration: Impact of EU Member States’ Declarations in the Wake of Achmea
In Achmea,[1] the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to assess the compatibility of the dispute resolution clause contained in the Netherlands-Slovak Republic BIT with EU law. In March 2018, the CJEU held that the clause was incompatible based on the threat posed to the constitutional structure and autonomy of the […]
William Kirtley and Christy Chidiac Comment on Setting Aside of Arbitral Award
In a recently-published article by LexisNexis, William Kirtley and Christy Chidiac provide analysis of the French Court of Cassation’s setting aside of the Paris Court of Appeal’s partial annulment of an arbitration award on jurisdiction rendered in Serafín García Armas and Karina García Gruber v The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Serafín“). A primary issue […]