Investor-State arbitrations involving unlawful expropriation are often concentrated on acts from a State’s legislative or executive branch. In this configuration, acts such as executive orders or laws are how a State may expropriate foreign investors. In turn, a lesser-known type of expropriation is judicial expropriation, which can be defined as “[t]he taking of contractual and […]
ICSID Arbitration
Summary Procedures in International Arbitration
Summary procedures in international arbitration mean procedures by which the arbitral tribunal determines certain points of fact or law at an early stage of the proceedings, potentially dispensing with the need for further arbitration proceedings. Summary proceedings can be a blessing to a respondent facing frivolous claims that obviously lack merit, as a successful dismissal […]
Expedited Arbitration
Expedited arbitration (or fast-track arbitration) has gained traction in recent years, in response to the length and cost of traditional international arbitration. The first expedited arbitration scheme appears to have been introduced in the 1992 Arbitration Rules of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration Rules (“CCIG”).[1] Today, most leading arbitral institutions have adopted specific […]
ICSID Expedited Arbitration
One of the innovative features of the new ICSID Arbitration Rules, in force as of 1 July 2022 (the “2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules”), figures in Chapter XII, which allows parties to opt into ICSID expedited arbitration. The principal purpose of the ICSID expedited procedure is to reduce the length of ICSID arbitration proceedings and, thus, […]
The Standard of Proof in Arbitration
In The Burden of Proof in Arbitration, a distinction was made between the burden of proof, defined as “the duty of proving a disputed assertion or charge”, and the standard of proof, which “determines the level of certainty and the degree of evidence necessary to establish proof in a criminal or civil proceeding”, according to […]
Climate Law in Investment Arbitration – Two Sides of the Same Coin
The role of climate law in investment arbitration is a problematic issue. Even though environmental consciousness and sustainability are increasingly important in today’s world, and investment arbitration tribunals have also recently recognized the importance of adjusting investment law to support the goals of climate law, there seems to exist a clash between the two fields […]
Enforcement of the Micula ICSID Award Rejected
On 14 July 2022,[1] the enforcement of the Micula ICSID award was rejected by Luxembourg Court of Cassation. The Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Appeal Court upholding the enforcement of the award rendered by the arbitral tribunal on 11 December 2013 in Ioan Micula, Viorel Micula, S.C. European Food S.A, S.C. Starmill S.R.L. […]
Customary International Law and Investment Arbitration
Customary international law plays a significant role in investment arbitration disputes. Parties frequently rely on customary international law as a secondary source of law under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) or a State contract. In some cases, arbitral tribunals have accepted a more prominent role of customary law, i.e., as a self-standing source of international […]
The New ICSID Arbitration Rules
The ICSID Convention, Regulations and Rules were adopted in 1967 and were later amended four times, with the last amendment entering into force in April 2006. In October 2016, the ICSID launched a new amendment process calling for Member States, and later the public, to suggest topics to be considered for changes. According to the […]