The Contents of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, Vol. 5 (2020)

Prof. Nikos Lavranos & Prof. Loukas Mistelis (Co-Editors in Chief) We are very pleased and proud to present the fifth issue of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review (EILA Rev) 2020. As of 23 December 2020, all articles of this volume can be ordered online at Brill Publishers: The stormy developments of the past… Read More The Contents of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, Vol. 5 (2020)

Taking Investors’ Rights Seriously: The Achmea and CETA Rulings of the European Court of Justice do Not Bar Intra-EU Investment Arbitration

Prof. Dr. Alexander Reuter * The ECJ’s Achmea and CETA rulings [1]; as well as the entire debate conducted on the issue so far, disregard one legal factor, that is, the binding legal effect of investors’ rights under investment treaties. That factor is, however, at the heart of the matter and decisive. Under EU procedural… Read More Taking Investors’ Rights Seriously: The Achmea and CETA Rulings of the European Court of Justice do Not Bar Intra-EU Investment Arbitration

Report on the 5th EFILA Annual Conference held on 30th January 2020 in London

by Dr. David Pusztai (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP The European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) held its 5th Annual Conference on 30 January 2020 in London, with a focus on “Investment Arbitration in the EU: Alternatives to Intra-EU BITs”. As the Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Meg… Read More Report on the 5th EFILA Annual Conference held on 30th January 2020 in London

Schrödinger’s Investment: the EU’s General Court Considers that the Compensation Ordered by the Micula Tribunal is Not a Form of State Aid (Although it Might as Well Have Been)

Alexandros Catalin Bakos, LL.M. Candidate, Utrecht University In a somewhat fortunate turn of events for the stability (or what is left of it in any case) of the intra-European Union (intra-EU) investment treaty system, the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) has annulled the EU Commission’s decision rendered against Romania for illegal state aid… Read More Schrödinger’s Investment: the EU’s General Court Considers that the Compensation Ordered by the Micula Tribunal is Not a Form of State Aid (Although it Might as Well Have Been)

Post-Achmea Energy Charter Treaty Coherence and Stability: Upheld or Hindered?

Alexandros Catalin Bakos, LL. M.* […] but this is not where or how it ends. Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds…completely (in-game dialogue from the intro scene of the video game Soul Reaver 2). The EU’s backlash against intra-EU (Bilateral?) Investment Treaties – intra-EU (B)ITs – reached its peak when the CJEU issued… Read More Post-Achmea Energy Charter Treaty Coherence and Stability: Upheld or Hindered?

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

Intra-EU BITs in a Fragile Union: On Non-Papers and Other (Legal) Demons

  by Horia Ciurtin LL.M., Managing Editor of the EFILA Blog* The Geo-Economic ‘Great Game’ and Its Symbolic Requirements The Commission’s endless troubles with intra-EU investment treaties appears as a benchmark for its ability to develop a coherent trade and investment policy. Every single state and non-state stakeholder across the globalized agora is closely watching the manner… Read More Intra-EU BITs in a Fragile Union: On Non-Papers and Other (Legal) Demons

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

ICSID Complaint as Alternative to Supplemental Filing

by Zoltán S. Novák, TaylorWessing We are used to thinking of international investment arbitration as a remedy against unlawful nationalization, expropriation, and other high-profile state acts depriving a foreign investor of his or her investment. It is pretty rare that the unfair treatment the investor complains about is limited to a simple court order requesting… Read More ICSID Complaint as Alternative to Supplemental Filing

The Lack of Any Legal Conflict Between EU Law and Intra-EU BITs/ECT Disputes

 by Dr. Nikos Lavranos LLM, Secretary General of EFILA* A couple of weeks ago the first award in the series of more than 25 other solar energy cases against Spain was issued. The case was brought by two companies based in Luxembourg and the Netherlands against Spain on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)… Read More The Lack of Any Legal Conflict Between EU Law and Intra-EU BITs/ECT Disputes

Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part II)

by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher – CELS* This article represents Part 2/2 of a larger material regarding the interaction of EU state aid rules and international investment law in the context of recent EC Decisions. Part 1/2 was published earlier this week. B.  Selectivity Whether a regulatory measure is selective shall be examined within the context… Read More Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part II)