International Litigation in Practice – serie

International Arbitral Jurisdiction analyzes the jurisdictional powers of international arbitral tribunals in areas of fundamental importance. The volume clarifies how tribunals have approached problems in consensual arrangements for submission to tribunals, and describes the general principles that have emerged. The text also examines special aspects of the jurisdiction of the Iran United States Claims Tribunal, which has a distinctive character in the context of modern international relations. International Arbitral Jurisdiction is a valuable, comprehensive and timely addition to the literature on international arbitration. It is intended to be a companion text to two preceding volumes on international jurisdiction by the same author, namely Jurisdiction of International Tribunals (2003) and Jurisdiction of Specific International Tribunals (2009).

States invoke economic crises and security threats to justify treaty non-compliance. The most dramatic recent examples of this phenomenon include “necessity” defences in international investment law; “emergency” derogations in international human rights treaties; “exceptions” for non-conforming measures in international trade law; and doctrinal misapplications of necessity in jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Necessity and National Emergency Clauses is the first to trace the doctrine’s genealogy from medieval Christian and Islamic religious history to post-Westphalian practices, the International Law Commission’s codifications, and modern treaty formulations. Recognizing the doctrine’s thematic linkage with the State’s sovereign right to delimit international obligation, the volume proposes analytical criteria to assess the lawfulness and legitimacy of interpretations of necessity and national emergency clauses within specialized treaty regimes.This volume is intended for law students, legal scholars, arbitrators, international judges, and other international law practitioners interested in deriving interpretive solutions to treaty controversies on the doctrine of necessity. Diane Desierto was awarded the 2010-2011 Ambrose Gherini Prize, the highest prize awarded in the field of International Law by Yale Law School, for her JSD dissertation, upon which this book is based.

At various times in modern history, the international community has turned to international litigation as a hoped-for means of avoiding, ending, or dealing with the consequences of armed conflict; but until the past three decades, such litigation rarely had a significant impact. However, since the 1980s, international civil tribunals have become increasingly involved in armed conflicts, sometimes with important results. This book explores the recent cases in which the International Court of Justice and other tribunals have dealt with such situations. It assesses the manner in which these cases have been decided, the degree to which they have affected the resolution of the conflicts in question, and their contribution to the development of the applicable substantive law.

In The Interpretation of International Investment Law: Equality, Discrimination and Minimum Standards of Treatment in Historical Context, author Todd Weiler demonstrates how historical analysis should be adopted in the interpretation of international investment law obligations. Weiler subjects some of the most commonly held beliefs about the nature and development of international investment law to a critical re-appraisal, based upon meticulously assembled historical record. In the process, the book provides readers with a fresh perspective on some of the oldest obligations in international law. This stimulating contribution to the discourse on interpretation of international investment law standards sheds new light on the formation of such primary obligations as fair and equitable treatment, protection and security and the customary international law minimum standard of treatment for aliens. Additionally, a thought-provoking historical analysis explains why a one-size-fits-all approach to obligations found in both trade and investment treaties, such as MFN treatment and national treatment, must be rejected. With a keen attention to detail, The Interpretation of International Investment Law: Equality, Discrimination and Minimum Standards of Treatment in Historical Context reveals the dynamic relationship between historical analysis, critical theory and the construction of both customary and treaty norms in international investment law.

Each year a growing number of complex and distinctive cases are filed in diverse forums which specialize in international investment arbitration. Until now, however, no single manual has guided practitioners through the many complexities involved in international investment arbitration proceedings - from whether and how to initiate arbitral proceedings to the enforcement of the award and available post-award remedies. Litigating International Investment Disputes: A Practitioner’s Guide fills this lacuna by serving as a comprehensive resource for those who are new to international investment arbitration, as well as for the seasoned practitioners. The diverse group of contributors are highly experienced experts and practitioners, who have acted as counsel and arbitrators, and served in institutions which routinely administer international investment arbitration proceedings.

Arbitration clauses in investment treaties often provide investors with a choice between ICSID arbitration, on the one hand, and rules originally drafted for commercial arbitration on the other. The Use of Commercial Arbitration Rules in Investment Treaty Disputes studies how domestic courts and commercial arbitration institutions impact the scope of arbitral tribunal jurisdiction when commercial arbitration rules are used.Based on extensive studies of court decisions and previously-unknown arbitral awards, Joel Dahlquist’s book analyses the practice of domestic courts in reviewing treaty-based jurisdiction, and explains how the two most used commercial arbitration institutions – the ICC and the SCC – have drafted, interpreted and applied their arbitration rules in treaty-based disputes.

Contracts are relevant, frequently central, for a significant number of investment disputes. Yet, the way tribunals ascertain their content remains largely underexplored. How do tribunals interpret contracts in investment treaty arbitration? How should they interpret contracts? Does national law have any role to play? Contract Interpretation in Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Theory of the Incidental Issue addresses these questions. The monograph offers a valuable insight into the practice and theory of contract interpretation in investment treaty arbitration. By proposing a theoretical frame for seamless integration of contract interpretation into the overall structure of decision-making, the book contributes to predictability, coherence, sufficiency and correctness of the tribunals’ interpretative practices in investment treaty arbitration.

Foreign investors benefit from investment protection standards in international investment law which are enforceable in investment arbitration. However, international law does not directly bind foreign investors and investment arbitration struggles to address foreign investor misconduct. Thus, host States cannot easily claim against foreign investors for breaches of international law in investment arbitration. In Counterclaims in Investment Arbitration, Edward Guntrip illustrates how host States can use counterclaim procedures in investment arbitration to hold foreign investors accountable for misconduct that breaches international law. Based on arbitral practice, the book sets out how host States can amend their State practice and litigation strategies to enhance the effectiveness of counterclaim procedures and assesses when host States should take this course of action.