Against the background of climate change, Ottavio Quirico explores how regulatory conflicts between the Energy Charter Treaty and the law of the European Union should be resolved.
A detailed article-by-article commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty, including coverage and analysis of the Treaty's history, background, jurisprudence, and reference to relationships with other treaties.
EU Law and International Investment Arbitrationthoroughly examines the compatibility of ISDS provisions in extra-EU BITs and the Energy Charter Treaty with the autonomy of EU law, and is a must read for all magistrates and investment practitioners involved in investment arbitrations in or with the EU, as well as for academics interested in the participation of the EU to international dispute resolution or the constitutional construction of the EU judicial system.
The Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) provides a unique, article-by-article, textual analysis of this important international agreement. The ECT outlines a multilateral framework for cross-border cooperation in the energy sector based on the principles of open competitive markets and sustainable development.
"The Energy Charter Treaty was launched with great fanfare to lay out the ground rules for massive investment in the energy resources and structures of central and eastern Europe. A general political statement was readily agreed upon, but negotiations on the Basic Agreement took several years before it was finally signed in December 1994. A follow-up treaty and protocols have yet to be negotiated." "This report examines the origins and evolution of the Energy Charter, summarizes the main elements of the Basic Agreement, and assesses the strengths, weaknesses and ultimate significance of the Charter."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Energy Dispute Resolution: Investment Protection, Transit and the Energy Charter Treaty is a compilation of written contributions prepared in the context of a conference organized by the Energy Charter Secretariat, in cooperation with five other well-known legal institutions (the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Permanent Court of Arbitration). This highly successful conference took place in Brussels in October 2009. Energy Dispute Resolution: Investment Protection, Transit and the Energy Charter Treaty focuses on investment arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty (or ECT) and on transit dispute resolution under the ECT. Part I consists of a review of awards, decisions and other developments in ECT investment arbitrations, of which nearly 30 were in the public domain as of 1 January 2011. Part II deals with the relationship between bilateral investment treaties, the ECT as a multilateral investment treaty, and European Union (EU) law, and addresses the question of whether conflict between these legal systems is inevitable. In Part III, the book reviews the highly developed provisional application mechanism of the ECT, particularly in relation to Russia, which signed the ECT in 1994 but has never ratified it. Part IV deals with the energy transit provisions of the ECT and the Treaty’s potential application with respect to East-West energy transit and supply disputes. The book also contains an Editor’s Preface, introductory and closing remarks, a table of contents, a detailed index, and an Appendix in the form of a CD-ROM containing the rules of arbitration of the three international arbitration mechanisms provided by the ECT (ICSID, SCC and ad hoc UNCITRAL arbitration). The book is of international application, particularly within the 51-country Energy Charter constituency (Western, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Japan, Turkey, Mongolia and Australia), but is relevant to energy and international arbitration lawyers worldwide.
Electricity supply plays a strategic role for Russia’s economic development and for social peace. As a main consumer of natural gas, electricity is also of central importance for the efficient management of Russia’s energy resource basis. Today, however, the electricity sector is in an obsolete condition. Investments are needed in the modernization of the infrastructure. This book analyzes the liberalization and privatization program that Russia is implementing to attract private investments in this modernization process. Taking a comparative approach, this analysis critically assesses Russian electricity law in the light of the European liberalization experience. Given the strategic importance of electricity, investors face significant risks of government intervention. This book identifies these regulatory risks and examines investment protection mechanisms under Russia’s national and international investment obligations.
In March 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) ruled in Achmea that investor-state dispute resolution provisions in intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are incompatible with EU law and ipso facto invalid. In January 2019, EU Member States issued Declarations on the Legal Consequences of the Judgment in Achmea undertaking to take steps formally to terminate intra-EU BITs. However, at present, there is no consensus among them on the implications of Achmea on the Energy Charter Treaty, the multilateral energy treaty to which the EU and its Member States are all parties. Many EU law scholars consider the Achmea judgment as the death knell to intra-EU investment treaty arbitrations. Some have even predicted the end of Investor-State Dispute Settlement itself. Investment treaty and public international law scholars and legal practitioners, however, have a different view of the schism now growing between EU and international law. The Future of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the EU examines the current and the proposed new framework for investment protection in the EU and internationally, with a particular focus on investment treaty arbitration and energy-related investments. With contributions from leading academics and practitioners, the book addresses the following themes: Intra-EU investment protection and the rule of law, including the proposed Multilateral Investment Court. The original purpose and features of investment protection, with particular focus on the EU. The Achmea judgment and its impact on the Energy Charter Treaty and energy investments. The ongoing discussion to modernize the Energy Charter Treaty post-Achmea. EU state aid and investment arbitral awards. Recognition and enforcement of investment arbitral awards post-Achmea in EU Member States, including in the light of Brexit. Recognition and enforcement of investment arbitral awards post-Achmea in China, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. This eminently informative book is very timely given the ongoing debate taking place in the EU and internationally regarding the interrelationship between investment treaty arbitration, public international law and EU law. The contributions from leading academics, scholars and European Commission officials provide a balanced, contextualized, detailed and critical analysis that will aid interested stakeholders to navigate their way with confidence through this difficult and changing area of the law. Testimonial: ”...is a welcome addition to the already vast literature focusing on EU investment arbitration. Perhaps the main merit of the book is that it brings together different perspectives on the debates ensuing in this field, offering the reader both the EU perspective and that of public international/investment lawyers. As such, it harmoniously integrates those - sometimes conflicting - views and is a great starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the subject (while also being of relevance to practitioners and academics with a knowledge of intra-EU investment arbitration), allowing the reader to gain an in-depth and fully comprehensive understanding of the legal problems raised in this area.” Alexandros-Catalin Bakos (LL.M) Editor, Revista Româna de Arbitraj / Volume 54, Issue 3/2020, p183-194