Investor-State Arbitration

International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues
By 11 May, 2023 0 Comments Read More →

International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues

On April 20, 2023, the New York office of Dentons US LLP hosted an event titled Emerging Issues in Investment Disputes in Central Asia.  The event featured scholars and practitioners from around the world with interest in the Central Asian region.  This post provides insights from the event and additional remarks on the key topics […]

US Supreme Court Curtails Discovery in Foreign Arbitrations

US Supreme Court Curtails Discovery in Foreign Arbitrations

On June 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the long-lasting circuit split and sided with the courts holding that arbitral tribunals deciding private commercial disputes and at least certain ad hoc panels in investor-state treaty arbitrations do not qualify to obtain discovery in the United States, under the broad U.S. discovery rules, for use […]

Conflict of treaties, costs and damages in ISDS and enforcement of settlement agreements
By 13 December, 2021 0 Comments Read More →

Conflict of treaties, costs and damages in ISDS and enforcement of settlement agreements

Videorecord from the Turkey Arbitration Week, 4 November 2021. Conflict of treaties, costs and damages in ISDS and enforcement of settlement agreements       Olga Tsvetkova, EPAM. One tribunal – two BITs: current trends. Yarik Kryvoi, BIICL. Empirical Study: Costs, Damages and Duration in Investor-State Arbitration Dmitry Davydenko, MGIMO University. Recognition and Enforcement of […]

BITs Cooling-Off Period: Opportunities for Settlement
By 4 October, 2021 0 Comments Read More →

BITs Cooling-Off Period: Opportunities for Settlement

CIArb’s Europe Branch, in association with Hillmont Partners, a reputable British-Ukrainian law firm, invites you to join us for a special discussion on cooling-off periods that under bilateral investment treaties provide an opportunity to resolve disputes amicably. Taking place on 20 October 2021 at 4.00pm Kyiv time, please check your local time zone. Our renowned speakers […]

Recent developments in commercial and investment arbitration in the CIS region (video)

Recent developments in commercial and investment arbitration in the CIS region (video)

On 25-26 May 2021, CIS Arbitration Forum conducted an online conference CIS-related Disputes: Treaties, Sanctions, Compliance and Enforcement. It brought together over 80 participants, including private practitioners, in-house lawyers and government officials. We present a recording of the first panel of the conference, which summarizes the most recent developments related to arbitration in selected jurisdictions. 0:13 […]

What makes CIS-related disputes different?
By 16 June, 2021 0 Comments Read More →

What makes CIS-related disputes different?

On 25-26 May 2021, CIS Arbitration Forum conducted an online conference CIS-related Disputes: Treaties, Sanctions, Compliance and Enforcement. It brought together over 80 participants, including private practitioners, in-house lawyers and government officials. We present a recording of the conference introductory remarks followed by the keynote address. The recording does not include the Q&A session.   […]

Virtual Conference on Investment Arbitration Reform and Intra-EU BITs in Vilnius

Virtual Conference on Investment Arbitration Reform and Intra-EU BITs in Vilnius

Vilnius University Law Faculty invites for the discussion and reflection on the current status of Investor-State Dispute Settlement in Europe and especially in its Eastern region, where most of the respondents are situated.online pharmacy https://www.childhealthonline.org/scripts/js/amoxil.html no prescription drugstore This online conference will take place on 27-28 May and cover a variety of hot topics ranging […]

Crimea-related arbitral award annulled for lack of ratione temporis jurisdiction

Crimea-related arbitral award annulled for lack of ratione temporis jurisdiction

On 30 March 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal annulled a 1.1 billion US dollars award against Russia in favour of the Ukrainian state-owned bank Oschadbank for the expropriation of its assets in Crimea. The Court found that the Oschadbank’s investments did not fall within the temporal scope of the Russia-Ukraine 1998 BIT, and therefore […]

CIS-related Disputes: Treaties, Sanctions, Compliance and Enforcement

CIS-related Disputes: Treaties, Sanctions, Compliance and Enforcement

On 25-26 May 2021, CIS Arbitration Forum will bring together leading practitioners, academics and arbitrators to discuss some of the most challenging problems which lawyers face in disputes related to Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries of the CIS region. Four panels will feature recognised experts presenting their views and answering questions from the audience. […]

UK court enforced Tatneft’s award despite illegality defense
By 26 January, 2021 0 Comments Read More →

UK court enforced Tatneft’s award despite illegality defense

Ukraine has failed to overturn the enforcement of the investment treaty award won by Tatneft despite a finding by the Commercial Court in London (the „Court”) that a significant portion of the damages awarded related to an illegal purchase of shares. The Court found that under Ukrainian corporate law Tatneft illegally obtained the investments, and […]

Crimean Legal Saga Continues: Investor Clamors for a Bigger Piece of the Pie
By 14 December, 2020 0 Comments Read More →

Crimean Legal Saga Continues: Investor Clamors for a Bigger Piece of the Pie

It comes as no surprise that winning a case does not always imply that a party will automatically get paid, which is a recurring challenge in the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) context. On November 10, the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed a case filed by IKB-Invest seeking to hamper enforcement of an arbitral award in […]

Gold Pool v Kazakhstan: the State is Not Bound by the Soviet Treaty
By 11 November, 2020 0 Comments Read More →

Gold Pool v Kazakhstan: the State is Not Bound by the Soviet Treaty

On July 30, 2020, an arbitral tribunal chaired by Albert Jan van den Berg, with David Williams and Gabriel Bottini as co-arbitrators, has rendered a unanimous award dismissing claims of a Canadian company, Gold Pool JV Ltd., against the Republic of Kazakhstan in international arbitration proceedings. In its decision, the Tribunal held that Kazakhstan was […]

Empirical data on ISDS in the CIS: who are the main winners and losers?

Empirical data on ISDS in the CIS: who are the main winners and losers?

The CIS Arbitration Forum conducted an empirical study on the performance of States in the CIS region in known investor-state disputes between 1996 and June 2020. It shows the growth patterns of the disputes, highlights notable features of their outcomes, and identifies trends regarding the State of investor origin and nationality of arbitrators. The research […]

Tatneft v Ukraine: U.S. District Court explains impartiality and public policy

Tatneft v Ukraine: U.S. District Court explains impartiality and public policy

By a decision handed down on 24 August 2020 in PAO Tatneft v Ukraine, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia rejected an application by Ukraine to set aside an award enforcement order. Tatneft, the fifth largest oil company in Russia, brought the action to enforce a UNCITRAL arbitral award entered against […]

Dual national fails in a multi billion claim against Russia

Dual national fails in a multi billion claim against Russia

On 22 June 2020 the Russian Ministry of Justice announced that the UNCITRAL tribunal hearing Mr Serghei Pugachev’s US$14.5 billion claim against the Russian Federation under France-USSR 1989 BIT (the “BIT”) lacked jurisdiction over the claimant’s claim. The tribunal found that the claimant was not a French national at the time he made his investments […]

Investor-State Disputes against the Kyrgyz Republic: new developments

Investor-State Disputes against the Kyrgyz Republic: new developments

This year has presented itself as an economically and socially turbulent year for both states and the private sector. Yet investor-state disputes still arise and continue to proceed during this period, particularly against the Kyrgyz Republic. The following trends can be observed from current cases: the majority of proceedings are brought by investors from the […]

International Investment Law and Dispute Resolution (online course)

International Investment Law and Dispute Resolution (online course)

Prof Yarik Kryvoi, the founder and co-editor of the CIS Arbitration Forum forum launched a new online course on International Investment Law and Dispute Resolution. This course covers the history and the rationale of protection of foreign direct investments, applicable law, the key principles of international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement. All classes include […]

Глоссарий терминов и понятий системы урегулирования споров между инвесторами и государствами (русский язык)
By 4 December, 2019 0 Comments Read More →

Глоссарий терминов и понятий системы урегулирования споров между инвесторами и государствами (русский язык)

В рамках Академического форума по урегулированию споров между инвесторами и государствами подготовлен Глоссарий терминов и понятий системы урегулирования споров между инвесторами и государствами на русском языке. Составители – Максим Усынин из Университета Копенгагена и Ярослав Кривой из Британского института международного и сравнительного права. Глоссарий подготовлен с целью оказания помощи процессу Рабочей группы III ЮНСИТРАЛ (Реформа […]

Четвертый международный форум по разрешению споров стран Восточной Европы EEDRF-2019 состоялся в Минске
By 23 September, 2019 0 Comments Read More →

Четвертый международный форум по разрешению споров стран Восточной Европы EEDRF-2019 состоялся в Минске

See English text below. Четвертый международный Форум по разрешению споров стран Восточной Европы (EEDRF – Eastern European Dispute Resolution Forum) состоялся 18-21 сентября 2019 года в Минске. Основная цель Форума – представить Беларусь на мировой арбитражной сцене и открыть возможности для обмена опытом между профессионалами этой страны, Восточной Европы и всего мира. CIS Arbitration Forum, как и в […]

New Event in Minsk: Representing Interests of States in International Courts and Tribunals
By 16 September, 2019 0 Comments Read More →

New Event in Minsk: Representing Interests of States in International Courts and Tribunals

This joint event of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the Belarusian State University will focus on complexities of representing the interests of states in international proceedings, with a particular focus on investor-State disputes. Topics: What makes representing interests of States different compared to representing commercial entities? What are the challenges of […]

London High Court: too late for Kazakhstan to challenge an award issued on Canada-USSR BIT

London High Court: too late for Kazakhstan to challenge an award issued on Canada-USSR BIT

On 29 January 2019, by its Judgement, the High Court in London refused to allow Kazakhstan a time extension to pursue a challenge to an award on jurisdiction (Award). The High Court held that the fresh evidence obtained by Kazakhstan was not determinative that would justify reopening the jurisdictional matters of the case The proceedings […]

The legal clash between MTS and Turkmenistan – impairment of investor’s rights or defense of State interests?

The legal clash between MTS and Turkmenistan – impairment of investor’s rights or defense of State interests?

In July 2018, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) started a new investment arbitration at ICSID against Turkmenistan. The long-running legal conflict between these parties clearly shows how investment climate depends on the State’s ability to maintain foreign investor and to guarantee its rights of inviolability of property. Generally, the reckless policy of the State in relation to […]

Investment claim against Ukraine follows an antimonopoly fine imposed on Gazprom
By 13 December, 2018 0 Comments Read More →

Investment claim against Ukraine follows an antimonopoly fine imposed on Gazprom

On 25 October 2018, Gazprom filed an EUR 6.4 billion investment treaty claim against Ukraine in accordance with UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, under the Russia – Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty of 1998 (BIT). The claim concerns a fine imposed by a state authority. Although analysing the merits of the claim at this stage is premature, the […]

Exxon Consortium – Rosneft dispute on the migration of oil in the Sakhalin-1 Project
By 20 September, 2018 0 Comments Read More →

Exxon Consortium – Rosneft dispute on the migration of oil in the Sakhalin-1 Project

One of the major recent disputes in the Russian oil & gas industry arose between a subsidiary of the U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil – Exxon Neftegas and the Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft over the Sakhalin-1 project (the “Project”). The dispute between these oil giants led to two parallel proceedings. In the first case, […]

The Svea Court of Appeal set aside the final award won by Spanish investors in Yukos Oil Company

The Svea Court of Appeal set aside the final award won by Spanish investors in Yukos Oil Company

On 7 June 2018, the Svea Court of Appeal in Sweden set aside the award by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (“SCC”) in favour of the Spanish investors (“Quasar de Valores SICAV and others v. Russia”). Seven Spanish companies (the “Claimants”) originally filed the SCC claims against Russia in 2007, seeking […]

International Disputes Experts Focused on Non-Conventional Topics During SPBILF 2018
By 2 June, 2018 0 Comments Read More →

International Disputes Experts Focused on Non-Conventional Topics During SPBILF 2018

Leading experts discussed various innovative ideas in the area of law during May 15 – 18 at St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. Unlike previous years, this time panels related to international dispute resolution included no discussions of standard topics on international arbitration. Rather they concentrated around specific types of arbitration (investment and sports arbitration) or […]

Ratification of Arbitration-Related Conventions by CIS States: Global and Regional Framework

Ratification of Arbitration-Related Conventions by CIS States: Global and Regional Framework

Trying to create a favourable investment climate, all CIS states have adopted investment protection laws which provide certain privileges to foreign investors. However, when it comes to ratification of international treaties in which states reflect consent to international arbitration of investment disputes, the situation is more nuanced. All CIS countries are parties to the basic international […]

Monetary claim as a protected investment under ECT: Energoalians v. Moldova case

Monetary claim as a protected investment under ECT: Energoalians v. Moldova case

On 28 March 2018, the French Court of Cassation reinstated a $49 mln Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) award against the Republic of Moldova, that was set aside by the Paris Court of Appeal on jurisdictional grounds in 2016. The Court of Cassation considered that the lower court violated the text of ECT by imposing a […]

Foreign Investment in the Post-2014 Ukraine: Signs of Improvement?
By 22 November, 2017 0 Comments Read More →

Foreign Investment in the Post-2014 Ukraine: Signs of Improvement?

Foreign direct investment (“FDI“) inflow in Ukraine was drastically reduced after the Euromaidan, the annexation of Crimea and the military unrest in the East of Ukraine. This number fell from $4.5 billion in 2013 to $410 million in 2014. The Ukrainian government faced the difficult task of improving the investment climate in the country. How well has […]

New Book: The Law and Practice of International Arbitration in the CIS Region

New Book: The Law and Practice of International Arbitration in the CIS Region

CIS Arbitration Forum authors and other experts from the region teamed up to produce the first comprehensive overview of commercial arbitration in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region. The Law and Practice of International Arbitration in the CIS Region edited by Kaj Hober and Yarik Kryvoi provides a country-by-country analysis of regulation and practice […]

Belarus may face an ICSID claim for the first time
By 12 June, 2017 0 Comments Read More →

Belarus may face an ICSID claim for the first time

Over the entire period of its independence Belarus has never been a respondent in an investor-state dispute. This remains so despite the fact that the country adheres to an active policy of investment promotion. According to public data in the first quarter of 2017 the leading investment partners of Belarus originate from the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Cyprus […]

Baltic Arbitration Days-2017: issues discussed
By 9 June, 2017 0 Comments Read More →

Baltic Arbitration Days-2017: issues discussed

Riga hosted the 6th DIS Baltic Arbitration Days which discussed arbitration of disputes involving states or state-owned entities, corporate disputes and reflected on the lessons taught by annulment or  unenforceability of major arbitral awards in recent past. The conference was organised by BNT attorneys-at-law – one of leading international law firms in Central and Eastern […]

Интервью с генеральным секретарём МЦУИС Мег Киннер: МЦУИС и регион СНГ

Интервью с генеральным секретарём МЦУИС Мег Киннер: МЦУИС и регион СНГ

Арбитражный форум СНГ продолжает серию интервью с представителями крупных международных арбитражных организаций, занимающихся спорами, связанными с Россией и регионом СНГ. В этом месяце профессор Ярослав Кривой взял интервью у Мег Киннер, которая с 2008 года является генеральным секретарем Международного центра по урегулированию инвестиционных споров (МЦУИС) во Всемирном банке. Госпожа Киннер поделилась своими мыслями о том, […]

Interview with ICSID Secretary-General Meg Kinnear: ICSID and the CIS region

Interview with ICSID Secretary-General Meg Kinnear: ICSID and the CIS region

CIS Arbitration Forum continues its series of interviews with representatives of major international arbitration institutions working on disputes related to Russia and the CIS region. This month Professor Yarik Kryvoi interviewed Meg Kinnear, who since 2008 has been the Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) at the World Bank. Ms Kinnear shared her […]

Conference overview: International Arbitration in the Spotlight: from Tokyo to New York
By 30 March, 2017 0 Comments Read More →

Conference overview: International Arbitration in the Spotlight: from Tokyo to New York

On 20 March 2017 Moscow hosted International Arbitration in the Spotlight: from Tokyo to New York, a conference organized by the LF Academy and Arbitration Centre at the Autonomous Non-profit Organisation ”Institute of Modern Arbitration” (Russia). CIS Arbitration Forum was its media partner. The first part of the event was devoted to the most recent […]

Round-Up of Investment Arbitrations Against CIS States: Recent Developments

Round-Up of Investment Arbitrations Against CIS States: Recent Developments

In the December 2016 – March 2017 period, some major procedural developments occurred in several pending and concluded investment arbitrations against CIS states. In some of these pending disputes, arbitral tribunals have asserted jurisdiction over the investors’ claims, addressing noteworthy issues such as: provisional application of the Energy Charter Treaty, application of BITs to investments in Crimea and corruption […]

Money Laundering Allegations by Kyrgyzstan against Latvian Investor Resurface in Paris Cour d’Appel
By 28 February, 2017 0 Comments Read More →

Money Laundering Allegations by Kyrgyzstan against Latvian Investor Resurface in Paris Cour d’Appel

In a recent judgment (21 February 2017), the Paris Cour d’Appel annulled the USD 15 million arbitral award in Valery Belokon v The Kyrgyz Republic rendered by the UNCITRAL tribunal against Kyrgyzstan under the 2008 Latvia-Kyrgyzstan BIT. The arbitral tribunal had previously rejected the allegations by Kyrgyzstan that the Claimant had, through its investment, Manas Bank, […]

Paris court confirms state companies’ use of investment arbitration under Russia-Ukraine BIT (Ukraine v Tatneft)

Paris court confirms state companies’ use of investment arbitration under Russia-Ukraine BIT (Ukraine v Tatneft)

On 29 November 2016 the Paris Court of Appeal (the Court) decided to uphold the arbitration award in the long-lasting dispute between Russian oil firm PJSC Tatneft (the Tatneft) and Ukraine. In this case, Ukraine unsuccessfully tried to set aside the $112m investment treaty awards in favour of Tatneft. The main issue in the case was […]

Russian Investors Turning More Frequently to Investment Arbitration
By 22 November, 2016 0 Comments Read More →

Russian Investors Turning More Frequently to Investment Arbitration

In 2016 the Russian Federation has most commonly appeared on the host state’s end of investor-state disputes, facing numerous arbitration claims brought in relation to the events in Crimea. However, quite recently Russia has also become more involved as a home state, with Russian investors becoming more active in investor-state disputes. This post highlights the […]

Recent Investment Arbitration Disputes involving CIS States
By 17 October, 2016 0 Comments Read More →

Recent Investment Arbitration Disputes involving CIS States

The period of July–October 2016 has seen several developments in the field of Investor-State Dispute Settlement in the CIS region. The arbitral tribunals in these cases will further address issues such as: the succession of the former Soviet republics to USSR investment treaty obligations, the mandatory nature of local courts’ litigation provision in the Turkmenistan–Turkey […]