In a decision of April 3, 2024, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“SFSC”) dismissed an application by Spain for an annulment of an arbitral award issued by an ad hoc-arbitral tribunal seated in Geneva. The arbitral tribunal had held that Spain had failed to accord fair and equitable treatment to a French company which had acquired and developed, through Spanish subsidiaries, twelve photovoltaic installations in Spain, and had awarded to the French investor EUR 29…
On March 3, 2021 the Advocate General issued its opinion in the proceedings before the Court of Justice…
The Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) is a multi-national agreement that entered into force in 1998. It is designed…
The Italian government has recently declared its withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). The ECT is a multilateral treaty between 53 countries across the world. It aims at establishing a legal framework to promote cross-border cooperation and investment in the energy sector. The Treaty contains, amongst others, provisions regarding the trade with and the transit of energy between the member states, the protection of foreign investments and the settlement of disputes. Officially, the Italian…
Investment in renewable energies is a vital part of the global strategy to address climate change. Many States…
In Micula v. Romania,[1] a D.C. district court judge recently enforced an investor-state arbitration award in a case…
The reform of the renewable energy industry in Spain has resulted in more than ten arbitration procedures filed by foreign or foreign-controlled investors, given the difficulty involved in obtaining investment protection from Spanish courts. Foreign control of investments is the critical element which opens the way to arbitration to protect investment. It must be decided whether the basic principles of investor protection have been observed and suitable compensation must be awarded, if appropriate, for any…
In 2018, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) shocked the arbitration world: In its Achmea-decision, it invalidated arbitration…
Welcome to the 18th edition of the Baker McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook. We are pleased to bring you our…
A. LEGISLATION AND RULES A.1 Legislation The Code of Civil Procedure of Switzerland was revised as per 1 January 2025. The revisions include some minor adaptations of the law applicable to the National Arbitration (Lex Arbitri for Arbitral Tribunals between Swiss Domiciled Parties). In particular, the new law foresees that a party can ask for the revision of an arbitral award if it gets to know subsequently relevant facts or evidence which it was unable…