In the case of Argentum Exploration Limited v. The Silver [2020] EWHC 3434 (Admlty) the English High Court held on 16 December 2020 that the Republic of South Africa (the “RSA“) was not immune from the Court’s adjudicative jurisdiction, despite RSA’s argument that it had state immunity. As such, the RSA was required to pay … Read more

On 29 January 2021, the European Union (“EU”) and Canada adopted four decisions (the “Decisions”), which put in place specific rules elaborating the Investment Court System (“ICS”) agreed in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA”). The Decisions set out detailed rules and procedures regarding the structure of the Appellate Tribunal and the conduct … Read more

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) has released case statistics for 2020 (available here) showing a record number of new cases. While the figures confirm that the Covid-19 pandemic has not so far significantly affected the nature of those disputes, other changes – such as a shift to virtual hearings – are … Read more

On 30 December 2020, the European Union and China announced their Agreement in Principle for the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). This is a landmark development for both parties in these long-running negotiations which began in 2012. On 22 January 2021, in the interest of transparency, Brussels published certain draft sections (here) of the … Read more

Sovereign wealth funds invest across a range of asset classes and engage in capital markets and loan transactions. Their engagement in these activities is consistent with that of any other commercial actor. However, the connection between a sovereign wealth fund and the State by which it has been created raises the question of whether the … Read more

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL“) Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation/Dispute Settlement) (“WGII“)​ has published the advance copy of its report (the “Report“) on the discussions held between 21 and 25 September 2020 during its 72nd session. The Report provides details about the discussions around various issues, including: (i) the form … Read more

The Commercial Court has granted summary judgment in favour of a bank seeking to recover payments under Credit Agreements entered into with the Venezuelan state-owned oil and gas company, Petroleos De Venezuela SA (PDVSA), finding that the defaulting borrower had no real prospect of successfully defending the claims on the basis of certain US Sanctions … Read more

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL“) Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform) (“WGIII”)​ has recently published two draft working papers for comment (the “Working Papers”). The Working Papers address the possible reform of investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“), focusing on (i) an appellate mechanism and enforcement issues and (ii) the selection and … Read more