Ten years ago this summer, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the “UNGPs”). The UNGPs are perhaps the most prominent manifestation of an accelerating global trend toward accounting for a legal or quasi-legal obligation on the part of corporations to conduct business in a manner that respects … Read more

In General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd v State of Libya [2021] UKSC 22 the Supreme Court (the “Court“), by a majority of 3 to 2, held that s12(1) State Immunity Act 1978 (the “SIA“) contains a “mandatory and exclusive” procedure for the service of documents instituting court proceedings on a State through the Foreign, Commonwealth … Read more

On 24 June 2021, an international panel of legal experts (the Panel) published a legal definition of ‘ecocide’ (the Proposal, link) proposed to be adopted as a fifth crime to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (the ICC or the Court). The Rome Statute addresses crimes that are deemed to be of international … Read more

On June 15, 2021, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID“) Secretariat published its Fifth Working Paper on Proposals for Amendment of the ICSID Rules (“WP5“), featuring the proposals for amended ICSID rules on arbitration. The proposals build upon the suggested amended rules in Working Paper 4 (“WP4“), and address issues such as … Read more

We are proud to be a part of London Climate Action Week 2021 (LCAW), the annual event bringing together world-leading climate professionals and communities across London and beyond to find practical solutions to climate change. Founded in 2019, LCAW is the largest independent climate change event in Europe, helping to shape our future into one that is … Read more

On May 12, 2021, Canada published its new Model Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (the “New Model BIT”), revising the 2004 Model Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (the “2004 Model BIT”). The New Model BIT modernizes Canada’s framework and brings a few interesting innovations in the Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”) world. … Read more

The UNCITRAL Secretariat has published initial draft provisions on the regulation of third-party funding in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The draft presents various potential models that the Working Group on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform (Working Group III, the “Working Group”) may adopt for regulating third-party funding. It includes proposed definitions, possible sanctions for inadmissible third-party … Read more

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL“) Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform) (“WGIII“)​ has published the advance copy of its report (the “Report“) on the work conducted between 8 and 12 February 2021 during its resumed 40th session. The Report provides details about the discussions around the following issues: (i) the selection and … Read more