Category: Articles

A BIT-By-BIT Understanding of the EU’s Present & Future Investment Agreements

by Emma Spiteri-Gonzi* Anyone with an interest in European investment and trade will undoubtedly have heard of the EU-US TTIP or, to use its full name, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Naturally, this makes sense as the US is the EU’s top trading partner and a trade agreement of this significance would unquestionably make… Read More A BIT-By-BIT Understanding of the EU’s Present & Future Investment Agreements

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The Greek Sovereign Debt Rescheduling, EU Bail-In and Investment Arbitration

by Prof. Georges Affaki* Many readers of this Blog spent the summer watching the brinkmanship of the Greek national debt third bailout unfold. Few were aware that part of that debt was being bitterly fought in fora other than the European Commission or the Greek Parliament: investment arbitral tribunals. This article reflects on the future… Read More The Greek Sovereign Debt Rescheduling, EU Bail-In and Investment Arbitration

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ISDS in TPP and TTIP Negotiations – Lessons for the EU

by Prof. Loukas Mistelis, QMUL* The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and, in particular, its Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions (ISDS) have been the focal point of an intense and polarising debate within the EU. Opponents of TTIP, on the one hand, reject the very idea of a new multilateral trade and investment agreement and… Read More ISDS in TPP and TTIP Negotiations – Lessons for the EU

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Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part II)

by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher – CELS* This article represents Part 2/2 of a larger material regarding the interaction of EU state aid rules and international investment law in the context of recent EC Decisions. Part 1/2 was published earlier this week. B.  Selectivity Whether a regulatory measure is selective shall be examined within the context… Read More Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part II)

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Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part I)

by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher – CELS* This article represents Part 1/2 of a larger material regarding the interaction of EU state aid rules and international investment law in the context of recent EC Decisions. Part 2/2 will be published later this week.  I.          Introduction In May 2014, Obama defended a more relaxed foreign policy that… Read More Just Because State Aid Is The Best Hammer Does Not Mean That All Issues Are Nails (Part I)

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The Polish Government’s Standpoint on ISDS Inclusion in the Scope of TTIP

by Pawel Sikora, Kubas Kos Gałkowski It is beyond any doubts that the ongoing procedure of negotiating Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US) raises essential controversies among the EU member states societies. However, it is not the first time such controversies occur, as just… Read More The Polish Government’s Standpoint on ISDS Inclusion in the Scope of TTIP

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The Proposed New Investment Court System for TTIP: The Right Way Forward?

by Mirjam van de Hel-Koedoot, NautaDutilh*   On 16 September 2015, the European Commission published a draft text for the investment chapter in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. In the Proposal, the European Commission specifically mentions that the Proposal is an internal document of the EU… Read More The Proposed New Investment Court System for TTIP: The Right Way Forward?

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Is ISDS Superior to Litigation before Domestic Courts? An EU View

by Prof. Marco Bronckers, VVGB Advocaten* In my view, something important is missing in the current debate on an Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanism (ISDS) in the EU’s new and comprehensive trade agreements with Canada (CETA), Singapore, the United States (TTIP), and other countries. In a ‘concept paper’ published last May, the European Commission posits as… Read More Is ISDS Superior to Litigation before Domestic Courts? An EU View

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Protecting International Commercial Arbitration in Europe

by Chris Wilford, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators* The current highly politicised debate surrounding the inclusion of investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which allows investors to bring claims against a State before an international arbitral tribunal, has brought arbitration into the spotlight. While ISDS is a special form of… Read More Protecting International Commercial Arbitration in Europe

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Before the Other Shoe Drops: The Current State of Renewable Energy Arbitration in Spain

by Clifford J. Hendel, Araoz & Rueda Abogados Until three or four years ago, both the Energy Charter Treaty in general and arbitration based on it were essentially unknown in Spain. Investment arbitration itself was a rarified specialty, known only to a handful of intrepid companies and a small cadre of advisors. The experience of the… Read More Before the Other Shoe Drops: The Current State of Renewable Energy Arbitration in Spain

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