The Decision-Making Process of Investor-State Arbitration Tribunals' explores the ways in which arbitral tribunals interpret the law in investor-state disputes. It examines the emergence of a specialised way of decision-making adapted to the characteristics and needs of investment arbitration. In the course of a single investor-state dispute, an arbitrator may make numerous decisions, from interpreting the treaty or national laws to taking into account case law, customs and policies. In practice, this process raises important issues regarding the consistency of arbitral awards and the predictability and legitimacy of the arbitral decision-making process. This is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the transnational characteristics of investment arbitration and to analyse the interpretive arguments of investment tribunals. It particularly examines the way tribunals reason their awards making reference to treaties, precedent, policies, general principles of law and customary law in their decision-making process.

This open access book considers the potential setup for a future Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). The option of an MIC was first discussed by the EU Commission in 2016 and has since been made an official element of the EU Common Commercial Policy. In 2017, UNCITRAL also decided to discuss the possibility of an MIC, and on 20 March 2018, the Council of the EU gave the EU Commission the mandate to negotiate the creation of an MIC. The “feasibility study” presented here is intended to contribute to a broader discussion on the options for a new international court specialized in investment protection. The cornerstones of such a new permanent court are a strict orientation on the rule of law, reduced costs of investment protection, transparency considerations, aspects of consistency in case law, and the effective enforceability of MIC decisions.

Volume 14 of ICCA Congress Series, The New York Convention at 50, comprises the proceedings of the ICCA Conference held in Dublin in 2008 on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. One of the highlights of the Conference was a Plenary Session in which the world's leading arbitration experts debated the need to revise the New York Convention. This discussion, along with the text of a preliminary draft of the revised Convention presented during the Conference, is reported in this volume. Further Reports and Commentary explore the two main themes of the Conference: Investment Treaty Arbitration/Treaty Arbitration, with contributions on: The Impact of Investment Treaty Arbitration: Identifying the Expectations, Testing the Assumptions; Investment Treaty Arbitration and Commercial Arbitration: Are They Different Ball Games? Remedies in Investment Treaty Arbitration: The Bottom Line; and The Enforcement of Investment Treaty Awards, and Rules-Based Solutions to Procedural Issues, with contributions on: Multi-party Disputes; Consolidation of Claims; Summary Disposition; and Provisional Measures. The volume also includes transcripts of the Round Table Session assessing the revisions to the UNCITRAL Rules on International Commercial Arbitration and of an Open Discussion on Recent Developments in International Arbitration.

In the course of a single investor-state dispute, an arbitrator may make numerous decisions, from interpreting the treaty or national laws to taking into account case law, customs and policies. In practice, this process raises important issues regarding the consistency of decisions and the predictability and legitimacy of the decision-making process in general. Investment arbitration tribunals have developed a specialised process of legal decision making adapted to the interpretational needs that arise in the context of an investor-state dispute and to the transnational characteristics of the investment arbitration framework. This is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the transnational characteristics of investment arbitration and to analyse the interpretive arguments of investment tribunals and the way they use treaties, precedent, policies, general principles of law and customary law in their decision-making process. Drawing on publicly available arbitral case law supplemented with personal interviews with investment arbitrators, the author touches on such concepts and practices as the following: - an overview of various decision-making genres of arbitral tribunals: attitudinal, economic, strategic and legal; - the legal argumentation triptych of language–rhetoric–dialogue; - the specific language arbitrators have developed when interpreting the law; - how arbitrators use the concepts 'standards', 'rules', 'principles' and 'rights'; - the importance of the legal reasoning of arbitral awards and the role of rhetoric therein; - concepts of 'acceptability', 'audience' and 'legitimacy'; - limitations of the public international law interpretive methodology enshrined in the Vienna Convention; - interpretation of precedents, customary law, general principles of law and policies; - the way national and international legal orders interact in the context of interpretation; and - how decision-making is connected to the issues of predictability, consistency and the rule of law. The core of the book proposes a novel, full- edged dialogical network theory for analysing the interpretation process. As an exemplary demonstration of developing theory to keep up with practice, this unique book provides a deeply engaged means for enhancing the practice of international arbitration. Its introduction of a new field of interdisciplinary analysis employing legal argumentation theories is sure to provide inestimable guidance for institutions and policymakers, especially in light of recent proposals for the creation of a permanent investment arbitration court. Given that unveiling the legal decision-making process is critical for the well-being of the whole dispute resolution procedure, and that being aware of how arbitrators interpret the law can constitute a roadmap for counsel's arguments and approaches when dealing with cross-border disputes, the topic of this book is relevant for both academics and practitioners, and its signifcance can only grow as recourse to investor-state arbitration continues to expand.

International investment arbitration remains one of the most controversial areas of globalisation and international law. This book provides a fresh contribution to the debate by adopting a thoroughly empirical approach. Based on new datasets and a range of quantitative, qualitative and computational methods, the contributors interrogate claims and counter-claims about the regime's legitimacy. The result is a nuanced picture about many of the critiques lodged against the regime, whether they be bias in arbitral decision-making, close relationships between law firms and arbitrators, absence of arbitral diversity, and excessive compensation. The book comes at a time when several national and international initiatives are under way to reform international investment arbitration. The authors discuss and analyse how the regime can be reformed and ow a process of legitimation might occur.

Addresses the most central debates in contemporary investment law and policy.

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.