Insights

On 21 March 2022, the Members States to the ICSID Convention approved a long-awaited update to the ICSID Rules and Regulations for resolving international investment disputes. This is the first amendment to the ICSID Rules since 2006, and the most extensive modernization of ICSID procedures in the Centre’s history. The updated rules are the outcome of six working papers over 5 years of collaboration with State officials, legal counsel, adjudicators, businesses representatives, and civil society.

Traditionally, space law was mainly limited to States and international organizations, but now the “commercialization” of Space is steep and accelerating.  In a report dated May 2022, Citi expects the space industry to reach $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2040, after the global space economy’s value reached $424 billion in 2020, having expanded 70% since 2010.  Whereas State actors were the only real driving forces behind the development of Space activities until about 15 years ago, private interests have no doubt driven the development of this nascent industry. 

This panel will provide an update on issues related to current topics in arbitrating international disputes in MENA:

The session will cover the preservation of the attorney client privilege during internal investigations and will examine both the basics of privilege law and best practices for preserving it in the US, UK and EU. Attendees will find this program very beneficial for members of the compliance, internal audit, and legal functions. 

The ILI invites you to attend a 75-minute lunch-time webinar by leading practitioners in the investment arbitration field on the recent developments in the reform at ICSID and before the UNCITRAL Working Group III (WG III). As announced by ICSID on January 20, ICSID submitted resolutions on the amended ICSID rules to the Administrative Council—ICSID’s governing body—for a vote of approval by March 21 with the new rules coming into effect on July 1, 2022.

This WAW panel will provide a deep understanding of the impact of the new era of Interim President Juan Guaidó on investment arbitration and dispute resolution, especially as the Maduro regime regains space. As a significant portion of BIT claims against Venezuela still remain before ICSID, claims favorable to foreign investors against Venezuela may still be influenced by Maduro’s current government. The panel will discuss the following: 

The World Arbitration Update (WAU) will update the global community on key and novel topics of investment and international commercial arbitration, and public international law in a decentralized forum. The first edition of WAU is being held virtually linking different regions by video conference during a five-day period from 11 to 15 October 2021. During these five days, there will be 15 panels and networking virtual events including:

This CLE webinar will discuss the differences between engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts and engineering, procurement, construction, and management (EPCM) contracts in large construction projects. The panel will discuss varying roles of the lead contractor in both environments, how risks and liabilities are attributed, and why making the wrong choice in structuring a project may have high long-term costs. Counsel Joshua Lindsay will be presenting on this panel.

Partner Ian Laird will serve as a judge for the session "The GAR Interactive Debate" at 1:45 pm. In this interactive session, we will hear junior practitioners debate the motion: ‘This house believes that big tech will embrace investment arbitration.’

Washington D.C. is the epicenter of investment arbitration. It has the headquarters of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), law firms specialized in investment arbitration, public international law and international commercial arbitration, international organizations, United States federal agencies specialized in investment arbitration, embassies, vibrant law schools, NGOs and think tanks. Washington D.C. Arbitration Week (WAW) is being launched to provide an organic D.C. forum in international arbitration for its legal community and the international and foreign community connected to it. WAW will further advance the analysis and discussion of developments reflected in arbitral awards, treaties and international instruments at the forefront of international arbitration.

This webinar will discuss various new developments in International Disputes. Panelists will discuss Qatar's ratification of the Singapore Convention on Mediation and other emerging trends.

Governments globally are implementing new regulations or broadening old ones in response to the growing popularity of digital assets—particularly as digital assets are more frequently used for cross-border money transfers. The U.S. and Canada are no exception. For platforms in the U.S., Canada, and other locations, new anti-money laundering rules and registration requirements not only present challenges for entities in the space, but also new opportunities.  

The International Law Institute (ILI) invites you to attend a 60 minute webinar discussion by leading practitioners in the investment arbitration field on the immediate issues facing international investors and States. Past economic crises have been the source of numerous investor-State disputes, such as seen arising from Argentina's peso crisis, the 2008 recession and the Arab Spring. This webinar will look to the current global crisis and present the viewpoint of both investors and States, as well as provide an early glimpse at some of the developing issues and potential cases which may arise in the months and years to come, including:

Under the new USMCA investment chapter, a radical change has occurred that will not only impact US investors in Canada and Mexico, but may herald a significant retreat in the US position on investment protection. Our presenters will describe these changes and address many related questions, including: Why did the policy change? Will this now become general policy and result in the watering down of all such protections and dispute resolution alternatives in future trade agreements? What are the wider business implications of potential weakened investment protections? What strategies can business undertake to reverse this trend?

The repatriation of funds has continued to be a serious problem in Venezuela. On March 9, 2016, the Government of Venezuela announced the creation of two new foreign exchange platforms: DIPRO and DICOM, as another attempt to “ease” its strict system of exchange controls. Companies have been subjected to eight exchange platforms of similar structure since 2003. While currency exchange has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, in Venezuela, many companies have been forced to write off large balances and curtail operations. The lack of a free currency exchange market continues to implicate Venezuela’s international law obligations under bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Depending on how companies have structured their investments in Venezuela, remedies may be available for foreign investors to seek a negotiated solution or pursue international arbitration to recover their funds and obtain compensation for losses suffered.

Please click here for a copy of the presentation.