We are pleased to be hosting the fifth Annual Conference of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA), to take place on 30 January 2020 at Herbert Smith Freehills’ offices in London. This year’s conference will focus on ‘Investment Protection in the EU: Alternatives to Intra-EU BITs’, and will cover the topics: Investment/investor … Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills is proud to be a co-partner and gold sponsor of the London Conference on International Law, taking place on 3 and 4 October 2019. The conference will bring together members of the international law community to explore ‘What is the use of international law and how do we engage with it?’ over … Read more
On 30 April 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) confirmed that the mechanism for the settlement of disputes between investors and states set out in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (“CETA“) was compatible with EU law. This confirms the Attorney General’s opinion discussed here. The … Read more
The Dutch Government has recently published the final version of its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (the Model BIT). The key changes since the May 2018 Draft Model BIT (discussed in our blog post here) are addressed below. The Model BIT includes some practical guidance for investors as to how the requirement of “substantive business interests” … Read more
In advance of the next meeting of UNCITRAL Working Group III (WG III) in April 2019, the European Union and its Member States have made a submission on “Establishing a standing mechanism for the settlement of international investment disputes” (the Submission), as well as a possible work plan for achieving this aim. As described in … Read more
One of the Advocates General to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“), Advocate General Bot, has issued an opinion confirming that the mechanism for the settlement of disputes between investors and states provided for in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (the “CETA“) is compatible with European … Read more
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL“) has been considering the possible reform of investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS“). UNCITRAL Working Group III (“WGIII“) has been given a broad mandate to identify concerns regarding ISDS procedure, consider whether reform is desirable, and, if so, develop relevant solutions to be recommended to the main UNCITRAL … Read more
Australia has become the 6th country to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade deal between 11 Pacific nations. Australia’s ratification followed swiftly after Canada deposited its official notice of ratification on 24th October, joining Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore. The agreement will now come into force on 30th … Read more
The Netherlands has released a new draft investment treaty for public comment (“Draft BIT“). If adopted, the Draft BIT may raise questions about the Kingdom’s attractiveness for foreign investors who have long taken advantage of Dutch treaty protections by structuring their investment via companies in the Netherlands. The Netherlands proposes to use the new model … Read more
