Balancing The Protection Of Foreign Investors And States Responses In The Post Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the debate on reform of the international investment agreement regime to the fore with renewed force. In this important and timely book, top professionals in the field collectively offer an in-depth investigation of the measures that States have taken, or failed to take, to deal with the pandemic’s consequences and whether these actions or inactions can be construed as investment arbitration risks. In an extensive overview of the impact of COVID-19 on States and investors – including perspectives from UNCTAD, the European Union, the United States, Russia, India, South Korea and the African Union – this comprehensive guide on State defences and investor protection mechanisms tackles such aspects of the debate as the following as affected by the pandemic: treatment of investors in times of pandemic and in the post-pandemic world; sufficient contribution to the economic development of the host State; disparities in bargaining power; and use of ‘pandemic power’ to accord preferential treatment. The final part of the book is dedicated to analysing case studies from around the world in the context of the pandemic and investor-State disputes. Understanding the way public health emergencies can shape international investment law is key to building a sustainable, stable investment environment. As the first detailed study of the post-pandemic development of investment law, this matchless collection takes a giant step toward reconciling the interests of foreign investors and sovereign States at various stages of economic development. With practical recommendations for both States and investors, it will be of immeasurable assistance to practitioners, policymakers, and academics in anticipating and dealing not only with COVID-related measures but also with similar future contingencies.

The Yearbook Commercial Arbitration continues its longstanding commitment to serving as a primary resource for the international arbitration community, with reports on arbitral awards and court decisions applying the leading arbitration conventions and decisions of general interest to the practice of international arbitration as well as announcements of arbitration legislation and rules. Volume XLVII (2022) includes: excerpts of arbitral awards made under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC); notes on new and amended arbitration rules, including references to their online publication; notes on recent developments in arbitration law and practice in Bahrain, British Virgin Islands, Canada, PR China, Egypt, Greece, India, Italy, Czech Republic, Malta, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine; excerpts of 82 decisions applying the 1958 New York Convention from 30 countries - including, for the first time, cases from El Salvador - all indexed by subject matter and linked to the commentaries on the New York Convention published in the yearbook, authored by formal General Editor and leading expert Prof. Dr. Albert Jan van den Berg; excerpts from one decision applying the 1965 Washington (ICSID) Convention and one decision applying the 1975 Panama (Inter-American) Convention, as well as a selection of thirteen court decisions of general interest; an extensive Bibliography of recent books and journals on arbitration. The Yearbook is edited by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the world's leading organization representing practitioners and academics in the field, under the general editorship of Prof. Dr. Stephan W. Schill and with the assistance of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague. It is an essential tool for lawyers, business people and scholars involved in the practice and study of international arbitration.

International Arbitration and the COVID-19 Revolution Edited by Maxi Scherer, Niuscha Bassiri & Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all major economic sectors and industries has triggered profound and systemic changes in international arbitration. Moreover, the fact that entire proceedings are now being conducted remotely constitutes so significant a deviation from the norm as to warrant the designation ‘revolution’. This timely book is the first to describe and analyse how the COVID-19 crisis has redefined arbitral practice, with critical appraisal from well-known practitioners of the pandemic’s effects on substantive and procedural aspects from the commencement of proceedings until the enforcement of the award. With practical guidance from a variety of perspectives – legal, practical, and sector-specific – on the conduct of international arbitration during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the chapters present leading practitioners’ insights into the unprecedented and multifaceted issues that arise. They provide expert tips and challenges in such practical matters as the following: preventing and resolving disputes of particular types – construction, energy, aviation, technology, media and telecommunication, finance and insurance; arbitrator appointments; issues of planning, preparation and sample procedural orders; witness preparation and cross-examination; e-signature of arbitral awards; setting aside and enforcement proceedings; and third-party funding. Also included are an empirical survey of users’ views and an overview of how the COVID-19 revolution has affected the arbitration rules of leading arbitral seats. With this timely and practical book, arbitration practitioners and scholars will gain up-to-date knowledge of sector-specific challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and approach arbitration proceedings with an understanding of the most important legal and practical considerations during the crisis and beyond.

This edited volume discusses the resilience of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a comparative lens, the book assesses the degree to which global PPP infrastructure projects have been affected by the pandemic and details short term and long-term measures undertaken by governments and private parties to mitigate disruption to infrastructure delivery. Secondly, it focuses on improving the state-of-art knowledge by suggesting future directions to be taken by governments, practitioners, and researchers in order to create resilience in infrastructure projects when using PPPs as the delivery model. Chapters present diverse case studies of PPP governance across countries, covering topics such as regulatory issues, risk management, financing, contractual governance, arbitration, and stakeholder management. Providing a systematic review, assessment, and research agenda on lessons learned from the pandemic, this volume will appeal to researchers and students of public administration, public economics, construction management, infrastructure management, and public management, as well as practitioners and government professionals.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

As a wide variety of state regulations allegedly aimed at protecting public health may interfere with foreign investments, a tension exists between the public health policies of the host state and investment treaty provisions. Under most investment treaties, States have waived their sovereign immunity, and have agreed to give arbitrators a comprehensive jurisdiction over what are essentially regulatory disputes. Some scholars and practitioners have expressed concern regarding the magnitude of decision-making power allocated to investment treaty tribunals. This book contributes to the current understanding of international investment law and arbitration, addressing the fundamental question of whether public health has and/or should have any relevance in contemporary international investment law and policy.

Investment treaties are some of the most controversial instruments of global economic governance. This book integrates legal, economic, and political perspectives to offer the first comprehensive analysis of the political economy of the investment treaty regime, and contextualises the investment treaty regime in its broader socio-economic context.