Recently, the International Centre of Settlement of International Dispute (“ICSID”) announced a new case record.[1] According to its caseload statistics published on 2 February 2018, the institution registered a record of 53 claims over 2017. Out of these cases, 49 were submitted under the ICSID Convention, while 4 were conducted under the ICSID Additional Facility rules. The […]
ICSID Arbitration
ICSID Denunciation – Should Investors be Worried?
Arbitration is only possible when both the claimant and the respondent have consented to it. In Investment Treaty Arbitration specifically, an investor can “perfect consent” by accepting an offer to arbitrate in an investment treaty. This article explores the significance of ICSID Denunciation in light of Fábrica de Vidrios Los Andes, C.A. & Owens-Illinois de Venezuela, C.A. […]
International Arbitration in Kyrgyzstan
International arbitration in the ex-Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan, as was the case in most ex-Soviet republics, was not a popular dispute resolution mechanism until 15 years ago. Today, international arbitration in Kyrgyzstan is governed by the Law on Arbitration Courts (2002). The Kyrgyz Law on Arbitration Courts is a modern law largely based on the UNCITRAL Model […]
State Counterclaim in Investment Arbitration
An ICSID arbitral tribunal awarded approximately USD 40 million in damages to Ecuador for the foreign investor’s liability for the costs of restoring the environment in an area concerned by the investment. This award of a counterclaim in investment arbitration was made by an arbitral tribunal composed of Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, Brigitte Stern and Stephen Drymer in […]
Consent in Investment Arbitration
Investment arbitration, like any arbitration, is a creature of contract. A party submitting a case to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the “Centre”) therefore must ensure that their adversaries have consented to arbitrate. This article answers the ‘what, how, and when’ of consent in investment arbitration. What is “Consent”? Article 25(1) of […]
The Cost of Investment Arbitration: UNCITRAL, ICSID Proceedings and Third-Party Funding
Party Costs in Investment Arbitration In a recent article by Global Arbitration Review, the second edition of a recent empirical study reveals that the cost of investment arbitration is unfortunately on the rise yet again. Since 2013, average party costs were a massive USD 7.41 million for claimants and USD 5.19 million for respondents. Before then, […]
Provisional Measures in International Investment Arbitration – To What Extent Are They Binding and Enforceable?
The authority of arbitral tribunals to grant interim or provisional measures in international investment arbitration is today uncontested and represents current practice[1]. This “inherent power”[2] of arbitral tribunals is encompassed in multiple investment arbitration instruments, such as Article 47 of the ICSID Convention, Article 39 of the ICSID Arbitration Rules, Article 26 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and Article 1134 of the […]
Lessons from Venezuela: ICSID’s Post-Denunciation Phase
Protests. News bulletins. Calls for treaty reform and withdrawal. In a political and economic climate of a potential post-arbitration age, governments and communities are in the throes of debate. Going forward, however, leaders would be mindful to learn from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its recent ICSID debacle when it faced two series […]
Investor’s Consent to ICSID Arbitration Under Côte d’Ivoire’s Investment Code
A request for acceptance of the investment constitutes valid evidence of the investor’s consent to ICSID arbitration under Côte d’Ivoire’s Investment Code. This is the finding of the arbitral tribunal in an ICSID arbitration initiated by an Ivoirian company, Société Resort Company Invest Abidjan, and two French nationals, Stanislas Citerici and Gérard Bot, against the Republic of […]