In a helpful clarification of the rules surrounding the registration of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) awards in England and Wales, the English High Court has ruled in Union Fenosa Gas SA v Egypt [2020] EWHC 1723 (Comm) here, that service of a claim form on a state is not required under … Read more

On 9 June 2020 the Republic of Djibouti became the 155th state to ratify the ICSID Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“the ICSID Convention”) following the depositing of its instrument of ratification with the World Bank. The ratification follows Djibouti’s signing of the Convention in April … Read more

In the recent case of Koza Limited, Mr Ipek v Koza Altin Isletmeleri AS [2020] EWHC 654 (Ch) (subscription required) the English High Court granted an injunction against a UK-based company, Koza Limited, restraining it from providing funding for an ICSID arbitration brought by another UK corporation, Ipek Investment Limited (IIL), against Turkey. Background Facts … Read more

In Micula and others (Respondents/Cross-Appellants) v Romania (Appellant/Cross-Respondent) [2020] UKSC 5 the UK Supreme Court (the “SC”) found that the duty of sincere cooperation under EU law does not preclude enforcement of an ICSID Convention (the “Convention”) award against Romania (the “Award”). In what is the enforcement stage of the long-running and well-known saga of … Read more

On 28 February 2020, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID“) Secretariat (the “Secretariat”) released its Fourth Working Paper on Proposals for Amendment of the ICSID Rules (“WP4”), the latest iteration of proposals for amended rules for investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“). The proposals build upon the proposed amended ICSID rules in Working Paper … Read more

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) has released case statistics for 2019 and updated their records for cases since 1972 (available here). ICSID has historically administered the majority of investor-state claims and these statistics remain an important bellwether for trends in such disputes. The 2019 statistics show that a lower number of … Read more

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL“) Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform) (“WGIII“)​ has published its report (the “Report“) on the work conducted between 20 and 24 January 2020 during its resumed 38th session. The Report provides details about the discussions around the following issues: (i) whether the investor-state dispute settlement … Read more

An ad hoc committee (the “Resubmission Committee“) has recently dismissed the claimants’ application to annul a resubmission award issued in September 2016 (and subsequently rectified) in Victor Pey Casado and President Allende Foundation v Republic of Chile (ICSID Case No. ARB/98/2), the longest dispute in the history of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment … Read more