Disputes over critical assets now drive many international arbitrations. Ports, airports, energy projects, mining assets, data centres, telecom networks and transport corridors are no longer purely commercial assets. States increasingly link them to national security, economic sovereignty, supply chains and geopolitical influence. The Panama Canal ports dispute shows this trend clearly. Panama Ports Company, a […]
Panama Arbitration
Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (The Panama Convention)
The 1975 Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, also known as the “Panama Convention“, is a significant multilateral agreement of which not all in the arbitration community are aware. The Convention was open to signature by all 35 Members of the Organization of American States (OAS) and entered into force on 16 June 1976. This […]
Judgment-Proof Claimants in ICSID Arbitration
The issue of judgment-proof claimants in ICSID arbitration has recently been a focus of attention. As a matter of fact, the Republic of Panama sent a memorandum to ICSID on 12 September 2016, available below, exposing the difficulties of sovereigns being unable to collect costs awards in their favour and requesting the ICSID to examine […]

