Investment Arbitration

One can observe two rather opposing trends. On the one hand there is a steady (and more recently significant) increase in the number of arbitration cases; one the other hand there is a rather…

In the latest twist in the ongoing war between foreign investors and the Republic of Argentina, a panel at the International centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has lifted a stay on…

Article 25 of the ICSID Convention, which draws the outer limits for the exercise of ICSID jurisdiction, does not define the concepts of "nationality" and "investment." Aaron Broches, the principal…

As previously reported, in a decision rendered on 15 April 2009, an ICSID Tribunal declined jurisdiction to hear claims submitted by Phoenix Action Ltd ("Phoenix") against the Czech Republic. Phoenix…

Following on from Patrick Dumberry's post, I wanted to offer some information on another pending investor-state dispute where a version of the persistent objector argument has arisen. There is an…

The question of the existence of legal protection for foreign investors under customary international law has always been controversial. States have indeed entered into BITs precisely because of the…

After several months of increasingly angry political rhetoric, and a formal green-light from the country’s Legislature, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has made his country the second state to…

In a decision rendered on April 15, 2009, a three-member tribunal composed of Brigitte Stern as chairperson, Andreas Bucher and Juan Fernandez-Armesto rejected Phoenix Action Ltd's ("Phoenix") claims…

It is well accepted that state responsibility arises under international law for denial of justice. This might occur, for example, where a state court abuses its supervisory function over an…