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Filtered : Human Rights and Investment Law

• Iraq’s Central Bank loses commercial arbitration over unpaid invoices, in dispute that gave rise to human rights violations

  Jun 09, 2023

• [Updated] Southeast Asia Round-Up: Arbitrators are revealed in claims by Chevron and Total against Thailand, a new threat against Vietnam, arbitrations involving Indonesia and the Philippines conclude, and RCEP ratifications pass hurdle for entry into force

  Nov 05, 2021

• Discontinued ICSID case against China resurfaces under PCA administration

  Nov 04, 2021

• Paris Court of Appeal upholds denial of justice award against Senegal, sees no bar against claims by dual nationals in underlying BIT

  Oct 14, 2021

• Paris Court of Appeal upholds award in favour of Yemen’s oil and gas company, seeing no ground to set the award aside based on allegations that damages paid may reach terrorist organizations

  Oct 11, 2021

• Analysis: Arbitrators in Eco Oro v. Colombia environmental mining ban dispute disagree on police powers and scope of minimum standard of treatment in Canada-Colombia FTA; majority finds MST breach, and decides that general exceptions do not relieve Colombia from its duty to pay compensation

  Sep 16, 2021

• Analysis: MAKAE v. Saudi Arabia tribunal declines jurisdiction due to claimant’s lack of de facto control over the underlying investment

  Sep 10, 2021

• UNCITRAL award in Pey Casado v. Chile saga surfaces, revealing that arbitrators declined jurisdiction after finding that the claimant had no investment

  Feb 18, 2021

• Three are in place to hear treaty-based claims against South Korea brought by an imprisoned Chinese investor

  Feb 01, 2021

• Relying on investment treaty case-law, the European Court of Human Rights permits Crimea-related case to proceed

  Feb 01, 2021

• Tribunal majority in Panamanian mining dispute finds treaty breaches, but awards only sunk costs to US investor

  Nov 09, 2020

• Looking Back: UNCITRAL tribunal in Biloune v. Ghana found creeping expropriation of resort complex, but declined jurisdiction over denial of justice and human rights claims

  Nov 06, 2020

• Turkey is facing under-the-radar UNCITRAL arbitration

  Sep 29, 2020

• Analysis: In Bahgat v. Egypt, arbitrators find that a series of measures, including the claimant’s arrest and the freezing of his assets, amounted to a violation of two BITs

  Aug 18, 2020

• Palestinian hotel owners initiate arbitration against Norway over lease dispute with international organisation

  Aug 18, 2020

• Bahgat v. Egypt decisions come to light

  Aug 12, 2020

• Imprisoned Chinese investor files arbitration against South Korea

  Jul 30, 2020

• Community members submit renewed petition for amicus participation in Guatemalan mining dispute

  Jul 22, 2020

• Looking Back: In Pey Casado v. Chile (1), arbitrators weighed in on dual nationality and ratione temporis jurisdictional objections, and ultimately found Chile liable for denial of justice

  Jul 12, 2020

• EU’s second draft proposal for Energy Charter Treaty renegotiation reaffirms the EU’s commitment to a multilateral investment court, proposes a provision on valuation of damages, and addresses public debt restructuring in post-COVID 19 context

  May 04, 2020

• Uncovered: In Bahgat v. Egypt, a unanimous tribunal upheld jurisdiction, and deemed dual national objection to be untimely – but in a separate opinion, Orrego Vicuna made clear that he disagreed with the majority’s view that dual nationals could bring claims against states whose nationality they held

  May 01, 2020

• UNCITRAL tribunal finds that Egypt breached two investment treaties through criminal proceedings initiated against investor in iron ore venture

  Apr 22, 2020

• EU’s ideas for Energy Charter Treaty renegotiation come to light; draft proposals still open to member-state comment, but include 3PF provisions, security for costs, expedited objections, and clearer denial of benefits

  Mar 26, 2020

• Ukraine held liable for disproportionate gambling ban imposed without consultation or transition period; European human rights court ruling comes as another investor, Olympic Entertainment Group, pursues BIT arbitration path

  Jul 02, 2019

• Colombia put on notice of BIT arbitration by another mining company following recent rulings by Constitutional Court

  Mar 29, 2019

• In new ruling, ICSID tribunal denies application for non-disputing party submission, considering that the petitioners failed to prove that the arbitral dispute involved issues of human rights

  Feb 20, 2019

• India agrees new investment treaty text with Colombia, Belarus and Taiwan, advancing some of its key concerns such as partial exhaustion and human rights [UPDATED]

  Jan 01, 2019

• European Human rights court condemns Turkey for not implementing local court rulings that might have led to the shuttering of a US business

  Jun 24, 2018

• Full details emerge of miner’s allegations of treaty breach by Guatemala; dispute follows domestic court rulings on investor duty to consult local communities

  May 20, 2018

• Germany ordered by human rights court to compensate for interference with limestone quarry licence

  May 15, 2018

• European Court of Human Rights dismisses investor claim, citing substantial similarity to parallel BIT arbitration that had netted partial recovery

  Apr 30, 2018

• Looking Back: In SPP v. Egypt, state is ordered to pay compensation after cancelling pyramids tourism project to preserve cultural heritage

  Apr 09, 2018

• Emergency arbitrator Bernardo Cremades orders Mongolian state to ensure businessman has “reasonable access” to counsel, but declines to order state to free him from prison

  Apr 03, 2018

• In-depth: ICSID annulment committee upholds Suez tribunal analyses of local litigation clause, necessity defence and damages

  May 08, 2017

• Al Jazeera seeks provisional measures in Egypt arbitration, but it remains to be seen whether either side will disclose case-materials

  Apr 07, 2017

• A tribunal is chosen to hear unusual investment treaty arbitration by Al Jazeera Media Network against Egypt

  Feb 23, 2017

• ANALYSIS: arbitrators in Urbaser v. Argentina water dispute deviate from prior Impregilo award on necessity and damages

  Jan 12, 2017

• In a first, BIT tribunal finds that it has jurisdiction to hear a host state’s counterclaim related to investor’s alleged violation of international human rights obligations

  Jan 12, 2017

• Arbitrators accept one amicus application and reject another in Bear Creek v Peru arbitration

  Jul 26, 2016

• In-depth: in Copper Mesa case, jurisdictional objections were waved away; Ecuador breaches BIT due to failure to protect investor from protesters

  Jun 05, 2016

• Part 2 of 5: In von Pezold v. Zimbabwe ruling, arbitrators decided whether to attribute settler land invasion conduct to government, and considered role of human rights law

  Feb 10, 2016

• Part 3 of 5: Arbitrators find mere non-payment of compensation renders takings unlawful, and fair treatment is denied due to breach of expectation of non-expropriation

  Feb 10, 2016

• Part 4 of 5: In unsuccessful defence of its expropriation of Swiss/German investors, Zimbabwe pleaded customary defence of necessity, but tribunal just sees a regime pursuing political survival

  Feb 10, 2016

• Investor offers views on legal significance of human rights arguments – and insists it has suffered unlawful expropriation – in latest pleading in Bolivian silver mine dispute

  Jan 20, 2016

• Bolivia alleges investor misconduct in silver mining claim, but tribunal deems it prudent to redact certain details so as to not exacerbate dispute

  Jun 14, 2015

• Foreign landowners fail in challenge of Paraguayan expropriation law that gives effect to earlier ruling of Inter-American Court of Human Rights

  Oct 08, 2014

• Dissenters on European Court reject majority order to pay shareholders directly, citing Yukos’ wrongdoing as bar to compensation

  Aug 04, 2014

• Days after Yukos arbitration ruling, European Court of Human Rights orders Russia to pay €1.866 billion to shareholders

  Jul 31, 2014

• Appeal of €5 million ruling against Ukraine for unlawful seizure of foreigner’s assets will not be heard

  Jun 04, 2014

• ANALYSIS: As Al Jazeera Media Network notifies Egypt of possible arbitration claim, what legal arguments loom in such a case?

  Apr 28, 2014

• ANALYSIS: Japanese companies may pursue Chevron-type BIT arbitration in response to Korean court rulings in forced labour cases

  Jan 10, 2014

• Tribunal says that any treatment of company officers must have “necessary link” to the claimant entitled to treaty-protection

  May 10, 2013

• After claims of human rights violation are borne out, businessman pursues ad-hoc investment treaty arbitration against Turkmenistan

  Apr 03, 2013

• New Books, Articles and Materials on International Investment Law, June 2012 to November 2012

  Nov 26, 2012

• South Africa pushes phase-out of early bilateral investment treaties after at least two separate brushes with investor-state arbitration

  Sep 23, 2012

• European Court of Human Rights rejects claims of expropriation by shareholders in nationalised bank

  Aug 19, 2012

• ANALYSIS: Tribunal confirms Russia’s deliberate destruction of Spanish investors’ Yukos holdings; findings distinguished from human rights court

  Aug 01, 2012

• Amicus submission rejected in Zimbabwe case; human rights law held inapplicable to ICSID proceedings

  Jun 27, 2012

• ANALYSIS: Tribunal’s reading of amicus curiae tests could make life difficult for antagonistic amici – and those seeking to raise novel concerns such as human rights law

  Jun 27, 2012

• Newly-released SAUR v. Argentina decision touches on illegality, test for expropriation, and financial “strangulation” of a concessionaire

  Jun 14, 2012

• Ecuadorian plaintiffs withdraw request for protective measures, after sparring with Chevron over need for human rights authorities to intervene

  Mar 14, 2012

• ANALYSIS: Interim measures granted by Inter-American Commission have featured in several recent investment controversies

  Mar 14, 2012

• European Court of Human Rights rules on claims by landowners for excessively delayed expropriation payouts in Malta and Poland

  Dec 31, 2011

• Arbitrators reject Greek investor’s claims that Romanian tax enforcements and food safety inspections breached investment treaty; Romania must bear $4 Million of its legal costs

  Dec 15, 2011

• Arbitrators decline jurisdiction over Romania’s counter-claim against investor; Counter-claims popping up in other ICSID cases, particularly Ecuadorian oil disputes

  Dec 15, 2011

• ANALYSIS: Novel human rights arguments are raised in Romania arbitration at ICSID; tribunal views BIT protections as more protective than European rights convention counterparts

  Dec 15, 2011

• Ecuador bristles at suggestion that its treatment of the media is in breach of international investment treaty and human rights protections

  Dec 15, 2011

• ANALYSIS: Threatened claim by off-shore investors in newspaper company could stir debate as to whether investment treaties protect “political” expression

  Dec 15, 2011

• Former ICSID claimant wins human rights case for unlawful detention and asset seizures; court does not delve into misconduct questions that had roiled earlier arbitration

  Dec 15, 2011

• In ignominious footnote to ICSID case, foreign investor is convicted of crimes against humanity

  Nov 02, 2011

• Turkey must compensate land-owners affected by its land conservation policies; compensation calculated near time of judgment, not the date of interference

  Oct 12, 2011

• Human Rights Court find some breaches by Russia in Yukos case, but diverges from earlier BIT arbitration ruling on other points

  Sep 20, 2011

• Battle over reversed public tender to play out in investment treaty arbitration and before European human rights court

  Sep 07, 2011

• Libananco v. Turkey postscript: minority shareholders in Uzan electricity companies also saw claims dismissed by European human rights court

  Sep 05, 2011

• Southern African governments move to rein in international tribunal; passing judgment on Zimbabwe has led to political backlash against SADC tribunal

  May 22, 2011

• European Human Rights Court dismisses claims against Turkey in Uzan electricity dispute

  May 03, 2011

• Human Rights Court finds no damage suffered by foreign investors from shares freeze; parallel investment arbitration threatened against Czech Republic

  Mar 31, 2011

• ANALYSIS: Tribunal in Grand River v. U.S.A. arbitration declines to import non-investment law obligations into NAFTA; role of other “relevant” legal obligations in treaty interpretation under Vienna Convention is not discussed

  Mar 06, 2011

• Greece ordered to pay 3.7 million (EUR) in compensation for creeping expropriation via measures aimed at protection of endangered sea turtles; court dismisses as conjectural a much larger claim for lost-income

  Feb 01, 2011

• Human Rights Court holds Hungary in violation of right to private life; Case highlights States’ responsibilities to police environmental effects of business activity

  Dec 16, 2010

• Facts of failed ICSID arbitration claim give rise to ruling in human rights court; ‘veil-piercing’ of closely-held company is permitted

  Nov 25, 2010

• Human Rights Court finds no violation of France’s duty to protect operations of UK company operating via English Channel tunnel

  Nov 25, 2010

• Briefly Noted: UN Advisor seeks public input on principles for business and human rights

  Nov 25, 2010

• Discontinuance of bilateral investment treaty claim leave some questions unresolved for South Africa; future shape of BIT program still up in the air

  Aug 28, 2010

• Argentina liable for denying fair and equitable treatment to Suez-led consortia of foreign investors in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe water concessions

  Aug 05, 2010

• Suez Analysis Part 1: Majority sets out view of fair and equitable treatment and Argentina’s ability to meet human rights law obligations in water disputes

  Aug 05, 2010

• Suez Analysis Part 2: Judge Nikken assails reading of fair and equitable treatment in light of investor’s expectations and signals that states don’t impliedly waive their regulatory powers

  Aug 05, 2010

• South Africa mining arbitration ends with a whimper, as terms of discontinuance are set down in award

  Aug 05, 2010

• Chevron decision analysis: tribunal steps into Ecuadorian judicial robes to resolve underlying dispute

  May 07, 2010

• Romania’s compliance with human rights ruling is studied, as other claims allege state failure to screen impact of industrial activity

  May 07, 2010

• European Court of Human Rights orders Serbia to comply with arbitral award

  Apr 22, 2010

• European Human Rights Court departs from international law approach to damages for unlawful takings

  Feb 09, 2010

• South Africa not prepared to let claimant walk away from ICSID claim without further conditions

  Nov 30, 2009

• European Human Rights Court finds violations by Moldova of foreign investors’ rights to fair hearing and property protection

  Nov 30, 2009

• Mining investors offer to withdraw politically sensitive arbitration claim against South Africa

  Nov 13, 2009

• European Human Rights Court holds Czech Republic denied fair hearing to foreign investors; declines to hear BIT claims

  Nov 13, 2009

• ANALYSIS: Arbitrators in Lebanon case grapple with non-treaty breaches, denial of justice, human rights law, and land occupation

  Oct 30, 2009

• NGOs permitted to intervene in South Africa mining case and for second time at ICSID, petitioners to see documents

  Oct 14, 2009

• South Africa mining arbitration sees another amicus curiae intervention

  Sep 02, 2009

• FREE: NGOs seek leave to intervene in ICSID arbitration arising out of South Africa’s treatment of foreign mining companies

  Jul 21, 2009