Enforcing an investment arbitration award against a sovereign State is not easy. It is particularly hard when that State firmly refuses to pay after losing an arbitration. Such a situation is obviously problematic for an investor. An investor must spend considerable resources, usually in the realm of millions of dollars, prior to receiving a favorable […]
Investment Arbitration
Arbitration Disputes in the Banking Sector: Sudden Changes of Legal Frameworks
A sudden change of the banking sector legal framework has provoked a tide of arbitrations against South-Eastern European States. Interventionist measures enacted by host States of investment have harmed the position of foreign banks on the local market. Consequently, banks have decided to initiate arbitral proceedings to protect their interests. Countries in South-Eastern Europe have […]
MFN Clauses: Recent Developments in Investment Arbitration
The applicability of MFN clauses (“most-favoured nation” clauses) remains a controversial topic in investment arbitration. The Maffezini tribunal[1] was the first arbitral tribunal that interpreted the applicability of an MFN clause to allow the importation of a more favourable treaty provision in a published award. In this case, the MFN clause effectively removed the local litigation […]
States as Claimants in Investment Arbitration
In classic investment arbitration disputes, an investor brings claims against a host country under an investment treaty, an investment contract, or both. Since only States are parties to bilateral investment treaties, they have obligations under these agreements. These treaties aim to give rights to foreign investors. Thus, the growth of investment disputes over the last […]
Le principe de libre transfert dans l’arbitrage d’investissement
La clause de libre transfert figure généralement parmi les clauses protectrices des investissements des investisseurs étrangers prévues par les traités bilatéraux d’investissement (ci-après les « TBI »). Ce blog se focalisera tant sur le contenu de ce principe de protection que sur les restrictions légitimes pouvant y être apportées. Le contenu du principe de libre transfert Par […]
Third-Party Funding Report Presented by Task Force
In Sydney, an ICCA-Queen Mary task force presented a third-party funding report for international arbitration. This 272-page report is rather comprehensive and a useful resource for those interested in third-party funding and the issues it poses in the field of international arbitration. The first two chapters provide a summary of the current state of the market […]
United Arab Emirates to Approve New Arbitration Law
The UAE parliament[1] has approved a new arbitration law based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. The Cabinet of Ministers will make a final review of the new UAE arbitration law and, afterwards, it will enter into force once the Supreme Council and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sign it. Experts do not expect any more in-depth […]
International Arbitration in V4 Countries
V4 Countries, also known as the Visegrad Group, is a political and cultural alliance formed in 1991 by four Central European countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. International arbitration in V4 countries is not a centralised matter. Consequently, this area is subject to the legislation of each State. This blog provides a […]
The Notion of Going Concern in International Arbitration
In one of our previous blogs, we provided several methods used in international arbitration to estimate damages caused by treaty violations by host States. This article will focus on one of those methods, the income method (commonly known as the discounted cash flow ‘DCF’ method) and, in particular, on the notion of a ‘going concern’ for […]