On 28 February 2020 the Supreme Court of Canada in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya (2020 SCC 5) issued a 5-4 ruling allowing a claim by Eritrean miners against Nevsun Resources Ltd. (“Nevsun”), a Canadian mining company, to proceed. The miners had initiated proceedings in British Columbia against Nevsun alleging, among other things, breaches of … Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills has helped secure an important victory for the Kingdom of Spain in a long-running investor-state arbitration concerning regulatory changes made by Spain in 2010 to the Feed-in Tariff regulation governing the photovoltaic (“PV”) sector in Spain. Read more
On 12 February 2020, the European Parliament (“EP“) gave its consent to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (“EU-Vietnam FTA“) and the Investment Protection Agreement (“EU-Vietnam IPA“). The consent from the EP paves the way for approval of the two agreements by the EU Council of Ministers next month. In brief, the EU-Vietnam FTA focuses on … 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
The decision recently delivered in the case Central Santa Lucia L.C. v. Meliá Hotels International S.A., brought before the First Instance Court of Palma de Mallorca (the “Decision”), is one of the first rendered by a European court concerning confiscated property in Cuba after the end of suspension of Title III of the Libertad Act … 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
London-based partner Nicholas Peacock has authored an article for Manufacturing Today Europe, together with associates Jerome Temme and Olga Dementyeva, covering how clients in the manufacturing sector can manage political risk when investing abroad. Read more
On 29 June 2012, the European Union and the six partner countries in Central America – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama – signed an Association Agreement (the EU-Central America Association Agreement) (the “Association Agreement“). The purpose of this FTA was to develop trade and investment relations between parties. On 13 May … Read more
In a landmark decision concerning Ukraine’s complaint against Russia’s transit restrictions, a WTO Panel has ruled for the first time on the nature of the GATT national security exception. The Panel took the view that the invocation of the exception is justiciable and subject to scrutiny by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). This is contrary to the position … Read more
