Public International Law Notes

Third party intervention in investment arbitration: Tribunal admits NGO submissions in Gabriel Resources' claim against Romania concerning mining project

The Tribunal in Gabriel Resources v Romania recently issued an order (the Order) in response to an application (the Application) made by three Romanian …

Advocate General finds that CETA's "Investment Court System" is compatible with EU law

Update on the future of ISDS: UNCITRAL Working Group III decides three areas for reform, indicating change is likely in 2019

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") has been considering the possible reform of investor-state dispute settlement …

English Court of Appeal finds good arguable case that public policy exception applies to the foreign Act of State Doctrine allowing Ukraine to argue duress in claim under Eurobonds

In Ukraine v The Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc [2018] EWCA Civ 2026 the English Court of Appeal (the Court) partially upheld an appeal in favour of …

Brexit: dispute resolution between the EU and the UK, under the withdrawal agreement and in the event that there is "no deal"

At a critical time in the Brexit negotiations, in the latest podcast on the Herbert Smith Freehills Podcast channel, Andrew Cannon and Hannah Ambrose …

English Court rejects Ukraine’s attempt to set aside enforcement order on grounds of state immunity

The English Court (the "Court") has dismissed an application by Ukraine to set aside a court order permitting Russian investor, PAO Tatneft, to enforce …

English Court finds that the foreign act of state doctrine may apply to arbitration proceedings

In the decision of Reliance Industries Limited & Ors v The Union of India [2018] EWHC 822 (Comm) the English Commercial Court (the Court) considered …

State to state dispute resolution in the UK Government's White Paper: arbitration with a potential role for the CJEU

The White Paper published yesterday, "The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union", includes the UK Government's proposal …

Upheaval and uncertainty in mineral regulation in parts of Africa: resurgence of resource nationalism highlights the importance of investment treaty protections

The last few months have seen significant changes to mining regulations in various African states, giving rise to a concern that a regional trend of …

State immunity: English court considers service of proceedings on a State in times of political unrest, and questions relating to enforcement of a foreign judgment against a State

In the recent decision of Certain Underwriters At Lloyds London v Syrian Arab Republic & Ors [2018] EWHC 385 (Comms) the English Commercial Court …

Update on the future of ISDS: the discussions within UNCITRAL Working Group III – no apparent consensus to date

After a number of years of public debate in a variety of fora, the discussion of the future development of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) has …

EU Council publishes Negotiating Directives for Convention establishing a Multilateral Investment Court: no real surprises but a couple of gaps

On 20 March, 2018 the Council of the European Union published negotiating directives dated 1 March 2018 authorizing the European Commission to negotiate …