By Cristian Gallorini[1] Legal stability and predictability are core elements of the rule of law. In the case of foreign investments in renewable energy (RE) the concept of stability imbues distinct aspects of the investment cycle, including the arbitrability of disputes. First, stability of the investment conditions is fundamental to foreign investors. Second, International Investment … Continue reading Revisiting the Blusun dictum: A Roadmap for a Proportionality Analysis of the Breach of Stability in the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard
Category: Articles
Germany’s Top Civil Court Declares: “primacy of application of Union law – also vis-à-vis public international law” in intra-EU investment arbitration
By Agata Daszko[1] On 27 July 2023, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof or BGH) issued a long-awaited decision (I ZB 43/22, I ZB 74/22 and I ZB 75/22) pertaining to intra-EU arbitration on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). The decision? “Upstream national legal protection is possible against intra-EU investor-State ICSID arbitral … Continue reading Germany’s Top Civil Court Declares: “primacy of application of Union law – also vis-à-vis public international law” in intra-EU investment arbitration
Quarterly Review: April – June 2023
While we slowly approach summer holidays, it is now time for a new quarterly review. In this QR, we summarised the main developments in the field of ISDS and EU law divided by topic, instead of by months. Paragraph I. provides an update on the latest news on the modernisation of the ECT and the … Continue reading Quarterly Review: April – June 2023
BayWa v Spain: No annulment for old objections
By Anastasia Choromidou[1] and Mark Konstantinidis[2] In May 2023, an ICSID ad hoc committee contributed the latest episode to the Spanish solar arbitration saga, by rejecting Spain’s arguments based on the CJEU Komstroy ruling on intra-EU arbitration. The BayWa v Spain annulment decision reflects the tense, from a doctrinal and institutional perspective, relationship between EU … Continue reading BayWa v Spain: No annulment for old objections
Don’t infer adverse inferences – the curious omission of adverse inferences from the 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules
By: Alexander A. Witt[1] Following a consultation process that lasted more than five years and produced six working papers reflecting the development of the draft provisions, the 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules (the “2022 Rules”) came into force on 1 July 2022. The 2022 Rules are a complete overhaul of their predecessor, the 2006 ICSID Arbitration … Continue reading Don’t infer adverse inferences – the curious omission of adverse inferences from the 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules
Quarterly Review: January – March 2023
The first quarter of 2023 proved rife with important developments in international investment law and arbitration involving Europe, the United States and the Indo-Pacific area. The star of the show remains the ECT, and its troubled relationship with the European Union and its Member States. Indeed, by the beginning of March, the Depositary of the … Continue reading Quarterly Review: January – March 2023
On the Road to Neutrality: Multilateral Investment Court and Appointment of Adjudicators
By Stanislava Nedeva[1] The proposal for establishing a Multilateral Investment Court (MIC) has been under discussion for several years now and was taken forward at intergovernmental talks at United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), with a view of reforming the current investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system. The intergovernmental talks are conducted under the … Continue reading On the Road to Neutrality: Multilateral Investment Court and Appointment of Adjudicators
Fair and Equitable Treatment in CETA from a German Perspective
By Simon Weber[1] On 1 December 2022, the German Parliament (Bundestag) ratified the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA; the Agreement) with Canada. The Agreement has been provisionally applied since 2017. Ever since, almost 100% of customs duties on goods traded between Member States of the European Union and Canada have been abolished. CETA must be ratified … Continue reading Fair and Equitable Treatment in CETA from a German Perspective
Euroscepticism: A Driver of the EU’s Clash with ISDS and Public International Law?
By Emma A. Iannini[1] It was not so long ago that many attorneys, academics, and European intellectuals might have described the EU and the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) as one of the crowning achievements of public international law. Despite its self-described sui generis nature, there is no doubt that the EU, … Continue reading Euroscepticism: A Driver of the EU’s Clash with ISDS and Public International Law?
Adjudicating actions of EU institutions in ICSID proceedings: A comment on PNB Banka v. Latvia
By Lili Feher[1] and Sebastian Lukic[2] Introduction In December 2022, the General Court of the EU rendered a set of judgments rejecting claims initiated by Latvian bank PNB Banka for the annulment of prudential measures imposed against it by the European Central Bank (ECB) (see T-275/19, T-301/19, T-330/19 and T-230/20). The cases had attracted attention considering the larger context … Continue reading Adjudicating actions of EU institutions in ICSID proceedings: A comment on PNB Banka v. Latvia