At first glance, one may think of international investment law as a response to custom (or lack thereof), instead of a field of its application. However, in fact, the opposite is the case. The interpretation and application of customary rules and principles are the bread and butter of international investment law and arbitration. With a diverse range of expert contributors, this collection traces how customary international law is practised in international investment law. It considers how custom should be interpreted and how its rules and principles should be understood and applied by investor-state arbitral tribunals. Raising and addressing vital questions surrounding custom and international law, this collection is a necessary contribution to the scholarship of the theory and history of customary international law and international investment law. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This book explores the meaning of 'investment' within the context of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration. It provides a comprehensive and detailed examination of the various legal issues arising in connection with the jurisdictional requirement of the existence of an investment. It explores, first of all, the fundamental question of whether the term 'investment' in Art. 25 ICSID Convention has - despite not being defined - some objective or independent meaning. Second, it addresses the substance of that meaning, showing that three main approaches (the prevailing Salini test, the permissibility test, and the commercial-transaction test) co-exist in arbitral practice. Third, it analyses the definitions of 'investment' found in investment treaties including the traditional definitional model, typical requirements, and recent developments in practice. Fourth, it provides an overview of definitions contained in domestic investment laws, highlighting commonalities with, and differences from, definitions found in investment treaties. Finally, it examines the investment status of several specific categories of assets and operations. The Concept of Investment in ICSID Arbitration offers not only a detailed analysis of the relevant case law, legislation, and scholarship, but also a critical assessment of existing practices and trends, as well as normative recommendations. It also explores issues that are neglected in the existing literature, such as the question of the nature of investment, recent trends in treaty drafting and arbitral case law, and definitions of 'investment' contained in investment laws. Despite its formal focus on ICSID arbitration, significant portions of the book are also relevant for other forms of investor-state arbitration.

Increasingly, international commercial arbitration has come to resemble the judicial process it was intended to replace, especially in terms of speed, costs and efficiency. Arbitration institutions worldwide have adopted rules or procedures to expedite the arbitral process to address these concerns. This book brings together thirty-one distinguished practitioners, academics and experts in the field from around the world to consider in nineteen chapters how these policies and procedures, including the 2021 UNCITRAL Expedited Arbitration Rules, operate and affect international commercial arbitration, investor-State arbitration and mediation. This book presents diverse and rich perspectives on the variety of methods adopted to provide an expeditious and cost-effective means for dispute resolution while recognizing the due process risks involved. Its comprehensive analysis of the case for expedited arbitration and the principles underpinning it covers such aspects as: expedited arbitration rules adopted by major arbitration institutions; expedited arbitration rules in the ‘ad hoc’ (non-institutional) context, including the UNCITRAL Expedited Arbitration Rules and UNCITRAL model clauses; expedited arbitration rules in various geographic regions, including China, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, focusing on specific jurisdictions in each region; new ICSID rules on mediation of investor-State disputes; and expedited arbitration-mediation (Arb-Med) in the Far East, focusing on Macau. Arbitrators and parties to international agreements will gain a greater understanding of the issues, options, and consequences that may result from expedited arbitration. Practitioners will benefit from guidance in drafting arbitration clauses and in weighing the advantages and disadvantages of expedited arbitration procedures in various jurisdictions. The insights in this book will benefit international commercial arbitration as its stakeholders seek to return international commercial arbitration to its foundational underpinnings: a prompt, efficacious and cost-effective means of resolving commercial disputes.

What makes investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) as dynamic a field as it is – especially in comparison with international commercial arbitration – is its uncanny ability to engage directly with the most topical and pressing issues of the day, including human rights, regulation of the energy sector, and climate change and the environment more generally. This book provides a deep dive into the reality behind the causes and effects of the expressed concerns regarding ISDS and the extent to which they can and have been addressed by ongoing reform processes at national, regional, and international levels. Deeply informed insights from leading scholars and practitioners on the status quo and perspectives of ISDS shed clear light on such aspects as the following: reform instruments adopted at the UNCITRAL Working Group III; issues surrounding the legitimacy of ISDS; dispute prevention and amicable settlement mechanisms; the proposed multilateral investment court; implications of climate change and energy transition for investment policies and disputes; recent regional trends in policymaking and perspectives; the ICSID-UNCITRAL Code of Conduct; investment protection standards and dispute resolution mechanisms in recent international investment treaties; viability of the modernized Energy Charter Treaty; use of artificial intelligence; and participation of civil society organizations. As an in-depth analysis of the most recent developments in international investment law and dispute resolution, this book offers a realistic view of the reform processes, thus underlining the necessary legal and institutional measures that will translate into real-life effects in the future. With its help, policymakers and government officials will identify ongoing trends and anticipate risks that require intervention, while practitioners and the broader dispute resolution community will find valuable information about the evolving contours of investment protection treaties and ISDS. For academics and civil society organizations interested in the developments and implications of ISDS, the book provides factual, nuanced, and effective analysis of the relevant issues.

In this substantially revised and updated second edition, this work examines the intersection of EU law and international arbitration based on the experience of leading practitioners in both commercial and investment treaty arbitration law. It expertly illustrates the depth and breadth of EU lawÕs impact on party autonomy and on the margin of appreciation available to arbitral tribunals. This second edition covers all relevant new developments in law and practice, and tracks the ever-increasing influence of EU law and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in international arbitration.