Construction projects are uniquely vulnerable to disruption caused by unresolved disputes because interruptions in payment or performance during ongoing works can rapidly affect labour, procurement, subcontractor mobilisation, project sequencing, and ultimately project viability. Unlike many commercial disputes, construction conflicts frequently arise while contractual performance is still ongoing, meaning that delayed resolution may itself become a […]
Environmental Liability in International Arbitration: Niko Resources and the Limits of Recoverable Loss
Environmental claims in international arbitration are often won or lost on narrow legal and evidentiary issues, rather than on the seriousness of the incident itself. The Niko Resources gas field arbitration illustrates this point. The dispute arose from two gas field blowouts in Bangladesh in 2005. In the arbitration, the tribunal found that Niko had […]
When a Termination Carve-Out Does Not Bar Arbitration: Lessons from Refinería Madero v. Pemex Tri
The ICC tribunal’s final award in Refinería Madero Tamaulipas, S.A.P.I. de C.V. v. Pemex Transformación Industrial is a useful decision for anyone drafting or litigating arbitration clauses in State-linked infrastructure contracts. At its core, the award answers a deceptively simple question: when a public works contract excludes disputes over early termination from arbitration, does that […]
Could Iran Bring the U.S. to Arbitration Over Its Iran Strikes? A 1981 Agreement Says Yes
More than four decades after the Tehran hostage crisis, arbitration may offer Iran a legal pathway to challenge the United States’ latest military campaign. On 28 February 2026, the United States, together with Israel, launched a large-scale military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran under the name “Operation Epic Fury”.[1] The United States has […]
Third-Party Funding and Confidentiality in Investment Arbitration: Kappes v. Guatemala
Third-party funding is increasingly common in investment arbitration. It can give investors access to treaty claims, but it may also raise issues of conflicts of interest, confidentiality, security for costs and adverse costs exposure.[1] The procedural orders in Daniel W. Kappes and Kappes, Cassiday & Associates v. Republic of Guatemala are useful because they address […]