The UNCITRAL Group III on investor-state dispute settlement reform met on 23-27 January 2023 in Vienna and focused on the commentary on the draft code of conduct for adjudicators in ISDS and the appellate mechanism. On 24 January Vladimir Kozin and I presented key findings of the UNODC ongoing study on corruption allegations in ISDS.…
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the effect of sanctions on arbitration has become an increasingly important topic. Within weeks of the invasion, the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Japan and other states imposed sweeping sanctions to support peace and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, quickly making Russia the most sanctioned state in…
Earlier this month I had the honour of participating in the 43rd session of the UNCITRAL Working Group III Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform, which took place in Vienna. The session demonstrated that although the group is making progress, on a number of issues disagreements persist between various states. This brief summary highlights some highlights of…
It has been a pleasure to present on defining foreign investments in Uppsala, Sweden at the CELIS Forum on Investment Screening earlier today. My presentation covered investments subject to FDI screening, cases, treaties and international coordination of the investment concept, territorial nexus and jurisdictional overlap. Having examined international investment agreements and ISDS cases, I drew…
On 16 December 2021, I had a privilege of co-chairing with Vladimir Kozin (UNODC) an event featuring key recommendations of the forthcoming report on corruption and foreign direct investments and corruption and investor-state dispute settlement. This post summarises key developments, which led to these findings and the document itself. Resolution 8/9 (2019) of State Parties…
It has been my honour to play a key role in convening the first high-level Expert Group Meeting on Corruption and Foreign investments organised by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the UN Conference on Trade and Development on 18-19 May 2021. The event brought together over 140 experts from States, intergovernmental organisations,…
In my contribution to the UNCTAD’s Virtual IIA Conference 2020: “IIA Reform in Times of COVID-19,” I highlighted a few projects we recently concluded or are currently working on. Below is a video recording of the presentation and its transcript. Every crisis is also an opportunity. In the area of international investment law, the opportunity…
Today I made an intervention on corporate restructuring and frivolous claims during the session of the Working Group III: Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform. Thank you Mr. Chair for the opportunity to address the distinguished audience. In its intervention, Australia mentioned the problem of corporate restructuring and frivolous claims. Indeed, efforts to create a new and…
Today I made an intervention as an observer at the UNCITRAL Working Group III session currently taking place in Vienna (in the online format). The representatives of Bahrain, Switzerland and other States mentioned in their session interventions that the situations were security for costs requested were granted. Now we actually have empirical data to back…
On 5 May 2020, 23 EU Member States signed an agreement for the termination of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties between EU Members (Termination Agreement). The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) hosted a webinar on 1 June 2020 to discuss legal and practical consequences of the Termination Agreement. The webinar featured presentations from representatives…