The last few months have seen significant changes to mining regulations in various African states, giving rise to a concern that a regional trend of resource nationalism may be (re-)emerging. In this context it is important for companies associated with… Read more

In a decision dated 2 March 2018 (the "Decision"), the English High Court has set aside parts of an award on jurisdiction (the "Award") from a London-seated arbitration (the "Arbitration") concerning claims brought by GPF GP S.a.r.l ("Griffin") against Poland… Read more

We have known for some time now that the UK and EU have very different views regarding the state-to-state dispute resolution mechanism to be contained in the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK. The EU has never made… Read more

We are delighted to share with you the latest issue of the publication from the Herbert Smith Freehills Global Arbitration Practice, Inside Arbitration. In addition to sharing knowledge and insights about the markets and industries in which our clients operate,… Read more

On 23 September 2017, a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its judgment on the longstanding maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. The Special Chamber reconfirmed the relevance of the… Read more

On 6 September 2017 the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders submitted a request from Belgium to the Court of Justice of the European Union for an opinion on the compatibility of the Investment Court… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to announce the launch of a new series of blog posts which will report on the latest developments in the NAFTA renegotiations. The series will run on our Public International Law Blog which provides analysis… Read more

The United States will lobby for changes to the investor-state dispute settlement ("ISDS") provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") in the upcoming discussions to renegotiate the regional treaty. ISDS reform is one of several "negotiating objectives" announced… Read more

In a ruling handed down on July 11, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit resolved a circuit split that had sown legal uncertainty on the correct procedure for the enforcement in the United States of… Read more

On 3 December 2016, Morocco and Nigeria signed a new bilateral investment treaty (the "BIT"), with the overarching aim of strengthening "the bonds of friendship and cooperation" between the two States.  The BIT (available here) is yet to be ratified… Read more

On 16 May, 2017 the European Court of Justice (the Court) rendered its Opinion on the competence of the European Union to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore. The Opinion recognises exclusive EU competence over most of the… Read more

On 3 May 2017, Ecuador's Legislature approved the termination of 12 bilateral investment treaties ("BITs") entered into with China, Chile, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Argentina, the U.S., Spain, Peru, Bolivia and Italy. This is not only consistent with Ecuador's… Read more

In an award dated 9 March 2017, the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between Korean investor Ansung Housing Co., Ltd and China dismissed all claims as time-barred. The Claimant's attempt to circumvent the limitation period by relying on the most… Read more

The Brexit White Paper The much-anticipated Brexit White Paper, ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union’, was published on 2 February 2017. This post focuses on a subject that has to date received relatively little… Read more

The EU Commission (the Commission) has launched a public consultation on the multilateral reform of the investment dispute settlement system.  The survey is found here and responses are due by 15 March 2017.  The consultation is the next step in… Read more

In an opinion issued on 21 December 2016, EU Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston QC has concluded that the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) will need to be finalised by the European Union and the Member States acting jointly, i.e. entered… Read more

On 30 October 2016, the EU and Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (the CETA).  As explained in our blog post here, the text of the CETA, which was originally agreed in 2014, was subjected to "legal scrubbing"… Read more

As previously noted in April 2015, India amended its model bilateral investment treaty (the Indian Model BIT) and has reportedly been deploying it in recent months to seek to re-negotiate bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over 47 countries (see previous… Read more

The immunity of states and their assets from the reach of national courts is an area of law with considerable practical implications for both private and state owned entities entering into international energy contracts. In this panel discussion, the speakers… Read more

In L R Avionics Technologies Limited v. The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria [2016] EWHC 1761 (Comm), the English High Court has set aside a charging order enforcing an arbitral award and related foreign… Read more

As we previously reported in April 2015 and January 2016, the Government of India ("GOI") published a draft Model Text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty ("Model BIT") to serve as a framework for the renegotiation of India's bilateral investment… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills Partners Dominic Roughton and Andrew Cannon have given an interview to Lexis Nexis on the development of the English law of state immunity and diplomatic immunity following the English court's decision in Attiya v Jaber Al Thani [2016] EWHC… Read more

The 12th Round of Negotiation of the TTIP, which concluded last week in Brussels, provided the first opportunity for the negotiating parties to discuss the EU's proposed Investment Chapter. The EU's formal proposal for the Investment Chapter, which is discussed… Read more

We are delighted to share with you the new publication from Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Arbitration Practice, Inside Arbitration. In our first edition: Dr Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof, Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration considers how the… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has helped secure a victory for the Kingdom of Spain in an investor-state arbitration under the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce rules commenced by two European investors Charanne B.V. (Netherlands) and Construction Investments S.à.r.l. (Luxembourg). The disputes concerned… Read more

As reported in our recent India E Bulletin here, India has unveiled the final version of its Model Text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (Model BIT).  The Model BIT serves as a template for negotiation by India of bilateral… Read more

Join us for a panel discussion on the dispute resolution system in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), presented by experts in international arbitration, as well as members of TPP government negotiating teams from Peru and Mexico. They will discuss the controversies arising… Read more