Atomic Arbitration: Vattenfall Challenges Germany’s Nuclear Power Phase-Out in ICSID Arbitration

With Germany’s nuclear power phase-out being a cornerstone of goverment policy, the challenge by Swedish energy company Vattenfall is bringing the rather arcane subject of investor-state arbitration into the headlights of the national press: Based on the Energy Charter Treaty, Vattenfall is seeking compensation of losses that result from Vattenfall having to phase out its nuclear power plants in Germany. Allegedly, damages are in the billions.

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Transparency in Investment Treaty Arbitration

Legal Tribune Online (LTO)  interviewed, in an article a couple of days ago, Moritz Renner of Humboldt University,Berlin, on the subject of transparency in investor treaty arbitration.

The main theme of LTO’s article is the lack of transparency of arbitration proceedings. Moritz Renner argues that the lack of transparency jeopardizes or even violates public interest. More precisely, he criticizes that there is no way to find out whether the arbitrators did take public interest into account when rendering the award. What he would like to see are procedural safeguards that make sure that public interest and public policy arguments are being heard. Continue reading