The EU and Euratom will withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty with Member States to support modernisation in the future. The European Council has adopted four decisions, confirming that the EU and Euratom will leave the...more
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a multi-nation investment treaty which protects investors from the nationalization of assets and other arbitrary and discriminatory state conduct made at the expense of investments in the...more
The Energy Charter Treaty and the Protocol were signed in December 1994 to promote international investment in the energy sector. On 16 April 2024, Spain gave written notice of its decision to withdraw from the ECT and on 14...more
On 22 February 2024, the UK announced it is withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) on the basis that it is incompatible with the energy transition, being the 11th state to do so. However, ECT protections for...more
On 22 February 2024, the UK government confirmed the UK’s withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), blaming a failure of efforts to modernise the treaty and align it with net zero aims. The UK joins nine EU member...more
On 22 February 2024, the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) announced that the UK would withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) after a recent failed attempt to modernise its text....more
As of January 2024, France, Germany and Poland have officially withdrawn from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Their decision to withdraw from the treaty follows a recent European Commission proposal for a mass exodus from...more
The UK has announced that it will review its membership of the Energy Charter Treaty (the “ECT” or “Treaty”) if there is no agreement on modernisation by November 2023. This announcement comes after a second vote on...more
On November 18, 2022, Luxembourg became the seventh country to announce plans to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), following in the footsteps of Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Slovenia, and Germany. ...more
For over two decades, investors in the energy sector have benefited from protections found in The Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). Investors in hydrogen projects will soon be able to benefit from these same protections....more
On 22 November 2022, the Energy Charter Conference is expected to vote on the proposed modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (the “ECT” or the “Treaty”), following an agreement in principle reached on 24 June 2022, after...more
In June 2022, the Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty ("ECT") announced an agreement in principle on the text of a modernized treaty. This modernization may have material consequences for state regulation and...more
The tribunal in Green Power v. Kingdom of Spain declined jurisdiction, finding that the parties had not validly consented to arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty. A tribunal seated in Sweden has become the first...more
On June 24, 2022, the Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT” or “Treaty”) reached an Agreement in Principle on the Modernization of the ECT (“Modernization Agreement”). Once approved at the Energy Charter...more
As climate change and energy transition play an increasingly important role in the decision-making of private and government entities, one issue is bound to become the focus of attention: Is there a potential conflict between...more
Since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 400 international companies have announced their intentions to scale back or shut down their business operations in Russia. Russia has responded to the exodus of...more
In a judgment handed down on 2 September 2021,1 the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) finally ruled that the investor-state arbitration clause, at Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), does not apply to intra-EU...more
The last few weeks have seen a raft of new investor-state arbitrations under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), including the first known investor-state claim against the European Union (EU) itself. These claims largely arise...more
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has released its 2018 caseload statistics. In 2018 ICSID registered a record 56 new cases, as compared to 53 cases registered in 2017. Since the first...more
Power Project Investor’s € 128 Million Victory Against Spain - Eiser Infrastructure Limited and Energia Solar Luxembourg S.A.R.I. v. Kingdom of Spain (ICSID Case No. ARB/13/36) - In this edition, we look at an...more
Desde hace más de dos décadas, México ha impulsado políticas para fomentar el ingreso y participación de la inversión extranjera en las actividades económicas del país. Sin embargo, y a pesar de ser uno de los 10 países más...more
For more than two decades, Mexico has promoted policies to encourage the entry and participation of foreign investment in the country's economic activities. However, despite being one of the 10 most active countries in...more
In early July 2017, operators of German nuclear power plants initiated the next step in the process of decommissioning by transferring €24 billion to the new state-owned fund for nuclear power plant waste disposal. The...more
International investment arbitration – also known as investment treaty arbitration or investor-State arbitration – is a procedure whereby foreign investors may seek a binding adjudication of claims against host States that...more
In a decision released on April 20, 2016, The Hague District Court reversed the interim and final awards of an arbitral tribunal in three proceedings against the Russian Federation by shareholders of Yukos Oil Company, which...more