From enforcement of an arbitration agreement to enforcement of provisional measures and final awards, parties and tribunals have to rely on domestic authorities.
In addition to difficult issues common to any arbitration proceedings, such as enforcement against non-signatories to the arbitration agreement, tracing the assets of reluctant debtors, and stay of enforcement, investor-State disputes add other complex issues.
These include State immunity, different regimes under the New York Convention, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention and other regional conventions, as well as in States non-signatories to such conventions. Additional difficulties arise with the enforcement of non-pecuniary provisional measures and cost awards.
The recent decision of the European Court of Justice in Achmea v Slovakia poses serious questions related to the enforceability of intra-EU investment treaties and awards.
These issues require a good understanding of the interplay between public international and domestic law.
To discuss these issues the Thirtieth ITF Public Conference will convene in London on 11 May 2018. The Forum will bring together leading arbitrators, judges, practitioners and academics, drawn primarily from ITF members, to debate issues related to enforcement in international investment law.
The Conference will also mark the sixtieth anniversary of the 1958 New York Convention, which continues to play an important role in international investment disputes.
