Quarterly Review: October – December 2022

The Editorial Board of the EFILA Blog is excited to share the first EFILA Blog Quarterly Review! Our editors have gathered and reviewed developments, events and publications from the last quarter of 2022 to highlight some of the most relevant news in the field of international investment law, arbitration and the intersection of ISDS with … Continue reading Quarterly Review: October – December 2022

Untapped Potential of MFN Clauses: an MFN clause to invoke another “more” MFN clause

By Danilo Ruggero Di Bella[1] On the premise that not all most-favoured-nation (MFN) clauses are created equal, this piece will explore whether it is possible to combine an MFN clause with a more favourable MFN clause contained in another treaty. The objective of doing so, would be to invoke another provision in that treaty (or … Continue reading Untapped Potential of MFN Clauses: an MFN clause to invoke another “more” MFN clause

Young ISDS Club – ICSID and UNCITRAL Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in ISDS disputes

By Suksham Chauhan, International Arbitration Trainee, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Paris   Young ISDS Club for the second time provided a great platform for a very engaging and interesting discussion on 8 June 2020. The Young ISDS Club remained steadfast to its core value of open discussion. It was a most candid discussion where participants … Continue reading Young ISDS Club – ICSID and UNCITRAL Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in ISDS disputes

Investment Tribunals Are Too Quick to Establish the Existence of Issue and Cause of Action Estoppel in International (Investment) Law

Alexandros-Cătălin Bakos[1] There is no denying that there is a serious backlash against investment arbitration at the moment. The signs are everywhere: from the latest discussions occurring within UNCITRAL’s Working Group III to the more recent practice of states (see the 22 European Union Member States’ declaration concerning the termination of their intra-EU Bilateral Investment … Continue reading Investment Tribunals Are Too Quick to Establish the Existence of Issue and Cause of Action Estoppel in International (Investment) Law

A Meeting of the Two Worlds: The Human Rights Regime and International Investment Law – A Critique of Urbaser v. Argentina

Priya Garg* A plethora of cases have been filed before investment tribunals regarding the issue of interaction or conflict between human rights obligations of investor or State and his or its, as the case may be, duties under international investment law (hereinafter, IIL).[1] The recent case of Urbaser v. Argentina only joins this already long … Continue reading A Meeting of the Two Worlds: The Human Rights Regime and International Investment Law – A Critique of Urbaser v. Argentina

The Relationship between EU State Aid law and Obligations Arising under Investment Treaties

by Alexandros Catalin Bakos, LL.M  I. Introduction: In recent years, a series of debates have emerged in regard to the relationship between the EU State Aid law[1], on the one hand, and obligations arising under Investment Treaties (to which the EU is not a formal party)[2], on the other hand. Those debates manifest themselves at … Continue reading The Relationship between EU State Aid law and Obligations Arising under Investment Treaties

Profit vs. Sustainability: How to pursue a sustainable investment

  Benedetta Cappiello*   It seems that nowadays the debate on fragmentation of international law is not yet ready to reach a prompt solution. On the contrary, every and each occasion, even at the jurisprudential level, seems a good one to offer some new reflections, in brief or at length, on the reason why international … Continue reading Profit vs. Sustainability: How to pursue a sustainable investment

India’s Federalism and Investment Arbitration

by Sarthak Malhotra* A key area of exposition both in Public International Law and Investment Arbitration is what constitutes an ‘act of state’. The Draft Articles on State Responsibility have been a ground-breaking work in codifying the rules of attribution of responsibility to the states. A related issue in this regard is the attribution of liability … Continue reading India’s Federalism and Investment Arbitration

Call for Contributions: EFILA Blog

Given the present debate surrounding the investment and EU law community (enhanced by the Brexit, the TTIP or CETA negotiations), the EFILA Blog editorial board believes that a veritable dialogue must take place, allowing all arguments to be heard and all diverging positions to be defended. Therefore, The EFILA Blog editorial board welcomes any contribution that pertains … Continue reading Call for Contributions: EFILA Blog

The Helping Hand of the MFN for the Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties

Rimantas Daujotas, Motieka & Audzevicius PLP* As it was recently announced, Slovakia has succeeded in referring the legality of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties to the European Court of Justice, as part of its bid to stop Dutch insurer Achmea from enforcing a €22 million UNCITRAL award. In a decision on 3 March 2016, Germany's Federal Court … Continue reading The Helping Hand of the MFN for the Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties