Climate change is one of the most concerning phenomena in today’s world. One of the tools almost every country is using to combat global warming is to incentivize the use of renewable energy sources, as opposed to the use of fossil fuels. Humanity has relied on fossil fuels without taking into consideration the long-term consequences. […]
Energy Charter Treaty Arbitration
Arbitraje Intracomunitario: Un tribunal decide a favor de la objeción jurisdiccional intracomunitaria
Un tribunal de inversión en un arbitraje intracomunitario decide por primera vez a favor de la objeción intracomunitaria, negando su jurisdicción bajo el Tratado sobre la Carta de la Energía, firmado el año 1994 (“TCE”).[1] El pasado 16 de junio fue emitido el laudo resultante del arbitraje intracomunitario de Green Power v. España.[2] Mediante el […]
Denial of Benefits in Investment Arbitration
Many of the Multilateral and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) concluded in recent decades contain a provision often referred to as a denial of benefits clause. Examples include the Netherlands Model BIT[1], the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and Europe (CETA)[2] and most notably the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).[3] The aim of denial of […]
Intra-EU Arbitration under the ECT Found Incompatible with EU Law
On 2 September 2021, in Republic of Moldova v. Komstroy, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) ruled that Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) based intra-EU arbitrations were contrary to EU law.[1] Background of the Case Energoalians, a Ukrainian producer initiated, an ad hoc arbitration procedure provided for in Article 26(4)(b) of the […]
Resolving Energy Disputes Through Arbitration
Energy projects are usually long, complex and require a substantial level of capital. Additionally, the sector has significant exposure to geological events, political changes and environmental regulations. For these reasons, disputes are common in the energy sector, and arbitration has become the preferred method of resolving these disputes, particularly at the international level.[1] As noted […]
Energy Charter Treaty: Current Status between EU States
The Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), available here, is a multilateral agreement. It was signed in December 1994 and entered into force on 16 April 1998. It created a multilateral framework for energy long-term cooperation between its members. The Energy Charter Treaty is preceded by the European Energy Charter adopted in December 1991, under which signatories […]
Renewable Energy Investment Arbitrations
Many renewable energy investment arbitration disputes have been initiated over recent years, including the cases Charanne and Construction Investments v. Spain, SCC Case No. V 062/2012, Eiser Infrastructure Limited and Energía Solar Luxembourg S.à r.l. v. Kingdom of Spain, ICSID Case No. ARB/13/36, Mesa Power Group, LLC v. Government of Canada, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2012-17 and others. While […]
Croatia Challenges MOL Arbitration Award
As previously announced by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Croatia appealed against the arbitral decision of an UNCITRAL arbitral tribunal, dismissing as unfounded Croatia’s claims against Hungarian State-owned company MOL. The case was brought by Croatia against Hungarian company MOL in 2014 pursuant to an arbitration clause in a 2003 shareholder’s agreement governing MOL’s investment […]
Spain Energy Treaty Arbitrations
On 12 August 2016, another Spain energy treaty arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty was registered at the ICSID. The claimants are two Dutch companies, Cordoba Beheer B.V. and Sevilla Beheer B.V., together with Cross Retail S.L and Spanish Project companies, both registered in Spain.[1] This case is just another in line with dozens of arbitrations […]
