The US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), the replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), entered into force on 1 July 2020. Background On 24 April, 2020 the United States Trade Representative issued a press release confirming that all three NAFTA member states had notified the other parties, in writing, that they had completed the … Read more
On 1 May 2020, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID“) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL“) released the long-awaited Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (the “Code”). The Code was prepared jointly by the Secretariats of ICSID and UNCITRAL, and seeks to address a … 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 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
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 14 and 18 October 2019 during its 38th session. The Report provides details about the discussions around three issues in particular: (i) the establishment of an advisory … Read more
In October 2019, the European Commission (the “Commission“) presented four proposals (the “Proposals“) to the Council of the European Union (the “Council“) with specific rules to establish the Investment Court System (“ICS“) envisaged under the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (“CETA“). If the Council and the EU Member States approve the Proposals, the EU … Read more
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
