This volume celebrates the first fifty years of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by presenting the landmark cases that have been decided under its auspices. These cases have addressed every aspect of investment disputes: jurisdictional thresholds; the substantive obligations found in investment treaties, contracts, and legislation; questions of general international law; and a number of novel procedural issues. Each chapter, written by an expert on the chapter’s particular focus, looks at an international investment law topic through the lens of one or more of these leading cases, analyzing what the case held, how it has been applied, and its overall significance to the development of international investment law. These topics include: - applicable law; - res judicata in investor-State arbitration; - notion of investment; - investor nationality; - consent to arbitration; - substantive standards of treatment; - consequences of corruption in investor-State arbitration; - State defenses - counter-claims; - assessment of damages and cost considerations; - ICSID Arbitration Rule 41(5) objections; - mass claims, consolidation and parallel proceedings; - provisional measures; - arbitrator challenges; - transparency and amicus curiae; and - annulment. Because the law of international investment continues to grow in importance in an ever globalizing world, this book is more than a fitting way to mark the past fifty years and to welcome the next fifty years of development. It will prove both educational for practitioners new to the field and informative for seasoned investment lawyers. Moreover, the book itself is a landmark that will be of great value to professionals, scholars and students interested in international investment law.

ICSID Convention after Fifty Years: Unsettled Issues celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention or Convention) with an overview and analysis of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) case law to date and, focusing particularly on unsettled issues, assesses possible developments in the institution's next phase. The ICSID has played a leading role in establishing the field of foreign investment law. It is primarily due to the ICSID that it is no longer peculiar for individuals and corporations to have legal standing in claims against governments - probably the most notable development of international law of the past half century. Now, in its fiftieth year and ratified by more than 150 states, the ICSID received its 500th case in 2015. What's in this book: This volume is a collection of twenty-two essays by prominent practitioners with substantial experience in investment arbitration law. The topics they cover encompass such issues as the following: the political and economic reasons behind the creation of the ICSID; admissibility and jurisdiction; ICSID vis-à-vis bilateral investment treaties; States' concerns about the 'partiality' of arbitrators in favour of investors; proceedings involving a non-contracting State; applicable laws under the ICSID Convention; conflicting interpretations of ICSID Convention provisions; interaction of foreign investment and economic development; value of ICSID awards in the light of EU law; annulment of ICSID awards; effects of denunciation (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela) and non-contracting States (Russia, Brazil, India); attribution of conduct of State-owned enterprises (SOEs); recognition and enforcement of ICSID arbitral awards; counterclaims; and allocation of costs. The cases involve a broad spectrum of international economic matters, including provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty, exploitation of natural resources, electric power, transportation, construction, finance, communications, water, sanitation, agriculture, fishing and forestry, and service and trade. How this will help you: As a detailed response to the question whether ICSID has contributed as promised to an improvement in the investment climate and promoted the flow of private foreign capital - and as an assessment of the present and future feasibility of the ICSID system for the resolution of investment disputes by arbitration and conciliation - this book has no peers. Considering the current crisis of investment law, the book's immediate value, not only to investors and their counsel but also to practitioners and academics, in the field of investment law and arbitration, and public international law cannot be overstated.

"This book, the outgrowth of a conference organized by the editors at Harvard Law School on April 19, 2008, aims to uncover the drivers behind the backlash against the current international investment regime."--Library of Congress Online Calalog.

Damages and other forms of redress are the object of nearly every international investment dispute. Given the financial stakes in these cases, compensation is a key concern for both foreign investors and States. The increasingly large sums awarded and the growing complexity of claims call for a renewed analysis of legal and valuation concepts related to damages. Contemporary and Emerging Issues on the Law of Damages and Valuation in International Investment Arbitration, edited by Christina L. Beharry, examines a broad range of damages topics, building on basic principles and surveying current developments to identify trends in the jurisprudence. A central contribution of this book is its exploration of cutting-edge issues dominating a new generation of investment awards and the interconnectedness of damages with other areas of international investment law. This volume brings together leading practitioners, experts, and academics with extensive experience working on issues related to the law of damages and the quantification of compensation. Readers are provided with a deeper understanding of legal and valuation principles that are often the source of intense debate in international investment cases.

This is a practice-oriented guide, including text, commentary, tables and index, for anyone dealing with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The Second Edition of this unprecedented volume assembles an updated and expanded country-by-country analysis – both practical and insightful – of how arbitration is conducted in forty-nine African countries, providing essential information about legislative provisions, treaty adherence, and arbitral procedure. Contributors include sought-after African arbitrators, distinguished practitioners, academics and institution-builders, all of whom are active in promoting the use of arbitration as a viable means of dispute resolution in Africa. Five sections representing the main regions of the continent, each with a substantive introductory chapter covering the major trends within that region, offer country overviews addressing issues such as the following: adherence to the key arbitration conventions; modernity of a State’s arbitration legislation and its compatibility with the UNCITRAL Model Law; particular features of arbitral practice in that jurisdiction (including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic); access to and (where available) statistics from local and regional arbitral institutions; significant arbitration-related national case law; and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. A sixth section focuses on treaty-based investor-State arbitration against African States under the ICSID Convention, providing an empirical analysis of the experience and record of African States with investor-State arbitration in the period between 2010 and 2020. Useful tables and graphics of intra-African bilateral investment treaties, a list of ICSID proceedings involving African States, a list of treaty accession by African States, and other tabular features round out the volume. The first edition of this volume was welcomed by arbitration practitioners and legal academics everywhere as an essential guide to an emerging and important area of international arbitration practice. This second edition tracks the significant developments (in treaty accession, reform of arbitration legislation and developing case law) that have taken place over the past decade, and confirms that arbitration as a preferred method of dispute resolution is now firmly entrenched on the African continent.

The legitimacy of investor-State arbitration is a much-debated topic, with arbitrators’ independence and impartiality being one of the core concerns. In The Independence and Impartiality of ICSID Arbitrators, Maria Nicole Cleis explores how unbiased decision-making is ensured under the ICSID Convention. Juxtaposing existing disqualification decisions in the ICSID system against corresponding requirements in related dispute settlement systems, the book convincingly argues that the current approach to disqualification requests against ICSID arbitrators is too exacting in light of the high stakes of investor-State disputes. The author’s nuanced analysis of the status quo is followed by novel suggestions for reforms (including a proposal for ICSID-specific guidelines on conflict of interest), making the book a valuable source of ideas on constructive paths forward.