ICSID tribunal finds Hungary in breach of expropriation clause in France–Hungary BIT

(This article was first published in ITN Quarterly, Issue 4, Volume 9, International Institute for Sustainable Development here)

Case Comment: UP and C.D. Holding Internationale v. Hungary, ICSID Case No. ARB/13/35

In an award dated October 9, 2018, an ICSID tribunal considered claims brought against Hungary by two French companies: UP (formerly known as Le Chèque Déjeuner, a cooperative company) and C.D. Holding Internationale, a wholly owned subsidiary of UP. The tribunal upheld the indirect expropriation claim under the France–Hungary BIT, awarding the claimants roughly EUR 23 million in compensation.

India-Bangladesh BIT Joint Interpretative Notes

Readers of this blog may know that India has been seeking to sign a Joint Interpretative Statement for Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, China, Colombia, Finland, Iceland, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sudan, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey. I have covered this at length here.

It was reported in October 2017 that India and Bangladesh have signed Joint Interpretative Notes for the India-Bangladesh BIT (JIN). While considerable time has passed since then, I still want to discuss this development for the benefit of those who may have missed it.

Need for implementation of Multilateral agreement on Investment vis-à-vis Dispute Settlement in WTO

– By Aayushi Singh*

Introduction – Cogs of the same wheel – Trade and FDI

From where do we get the much-assumed co-relation between trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)?  Let us draw from the theory of Grazia Ietto-Gillies who opined that the reason for the growth of FDI and MNCs were rooted in neoclassical economics based on macro-economic principles.[1] These theories were based on the classical theory of trade in which the motive behind the trade was a result of the difference in the costs of production of goods between two countries, focusing on the low cost of production as a motive for a firm’s foreign activity.[2] The relation between trade and FDI flows from this. Analytical work has recently been developed by OECD in order to explore the nature of these links in quantitative terms.[3]

Interview: Dr. Wolfgang Alschner, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

Dr. Wolfgang Alschner, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, is an empirical legal scholar specialized in international economic law and the computational analysis of law. He holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, a Master of Law from Stanford Law School, a Master in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute as well as an LLB from the University of London and a BA in International Relations from the University of Dresden, Germany. Prior to joining academia, he worked for UNCTAD’s Section on International Investment Agreements. He co-founded the investment treaty analytics portal www. mappinginvestmenttreaties.com and has published in leading peer-reviewed journals.

Redefining the ‘Centre’: International Economic Law and Grand Strategy in a Multipolar World

 

By Horia Ciurtin*

(Legal) Multipolarity Revisited: What Lies Beyond Westphalia?

This brief introduction to such an ambitious thematic must undoubtedly commence by positing its adherence to the (non-legal) core concept of ‘grand strategy’ and its realist avatars in international economic law. More precisely, it shall be argued that – at a certain level – the normative sphere is instrumentalised by competing nomothetic actors in order to enhance their power position and joint economic security, in a troubled multipolar world.

Iraq accedes to ICSID: Signed and Ratified

by Sujoy Sur

Iraq has finally acceded to ICSID, and the sigh of finality is resounding because it is the first globally recognised and followed international arbitration framework to which it has acceded to. The Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention) was signed today on behalf of the Republic of Iraq by H.E. Dr. Sami Raouf Al-Araji, Chairman of the National Investment Commission.[1]