On 24 June 2022, the Energy Charter Conference (ECC) confirmed that the Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) had reached an Agreement in Principle on the modernisation of the treaty. We look at the key commitments made below. Read more

The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) has released an investor-state Mediation Guide (the Guide) to assist lawyers and users of investor-state mediation with the process. HSF Partner, Andrew Cannon, a member of CEDR’s advisory group of leading practitioners, contributed to the Guide. Read more

On 21 March 2022, the member states of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) approved wide-ranging amendments to the ICSID Regulations and Rules, which will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The approved amendments are the product of a rule amendment project which commenced in October 2016, pursuant to which … Read more

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (“UNCTAD“) has recently published its report (available here) on investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“) cases in 2020 (“Report“). The Report confirms that in 2020, investors initiated at least 68 publicly known ISDS cases pursuant to various international investment agreements (“IIAs“). This marks an increase in the number of … Read more

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

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