ICC Court adopts Guidance Note on Conflict Disclosures by Arbitrators

ICC Court of Arbitration LogoEarlier this month, the ICC International Court of Arbitration has adopted a Guidance Note for the disclosure of conflicts by arbitrators. I had the priviledge to hear the President of the Court, Alexis Mourre, discuss the new policy at a meeting with the ICC’s German Group shortly after the note had been adopted by the Bureau of the Court on February 12, 2016. Continue reading

TTIP: Investor-State Dispute Settlement and Constitutional Law

The latest issue of “Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht  – The Rabel Journal of Comparative and International Private Law” (RabelsZ) has been released. I just wanted to highlight an article by Armin Steinbach titled Investor-Staat-Schiedsverfahren und Verfassungsrecht. Here is the abstract:

“Investment treaties allow foreign investors to claim damages against states before tribunals of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). More frequently, such dispute settlement procedures tend to replace proceedings before national courts. This has given rise to the heated debate surrounding the ongoing negotiation about the free trade agreements between the European Union and the United States of America. This article identifies and discusses the constitutional law implications of such tribunals. The composition of the tribunals of private persons, the lack of a legal ground for public policy reasons to override investors’ rights, the dynamic development of the adjudication based on vague legal terms and the lack of publicity and transparency in the proceedings – all this raises questions from the perspective of democratic principle and rule of law. Based on democratic principle doctrine, this article classifies rulings of tribunals as acts of public authority and highlights the lack of material and personal legitimacy and examines whether a state monopoly of adjudication can be derived from the separation of powers principle. It discusses the publicity and control of ISDS tribunals as an obligation enshrined in the democratic principles and highlights the missing legal reviewability of ISDS rulings compared to tribunals established under German administrative law. Finally, the article explores possible compensatory instruments addressing the identified deficits based on an application of investments treaties in line with constitutional law principles.”

For another voice highly critical of the current proposals for investor-state dispute settlement, see the recent statement of Deutscher Richterbund, the association of German judges.

The Hague Conference: New Handbooks Published on the Service and Evidence Convention

hcch logoLast week, the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law announced that the new editions of the Practical Handbooks on the Operation of the Service Convention and of the Evidence Convention have been published. Continue reading