“Umbrella Clauses” bring purely contractual claims under the overarching “umbrella” of a BIT. The term typically used in BITs to designate relevant contracts is “specific undertakings”.
Investors tend to rely on those clauses in order to pursue claims in situations where the acts of a State – typically but not necessarily as a contracting party of the investor – do not otherwise amount to a breach of a treaty.
Adding an umbrella clause to a BIT allow an investor to bring claims that are essentially contractual before an international investment tribunal.
Relevant Experience of BODENHEIMER Attorneys
Axel Benjamin Herzberg and Dr Rouven F Bodenheimer routinely advise both, investors and governments on international investment law issues. Mr Herzberg also handled a number of ISDS cases as Deputy Counsel at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris.
Dr Nicolas Klein worked for German Federal Constitutional Court Justice Professor Dr Andreas Paulus, himself a renowned public international law specialist who represented Germany, inter alia, before the International Court of Justice in the LaGrand case against the United States. Both, Dr Klein’s doctoral thesis and his LL.M. studies at Columbia University (New York) revolved around issues of international investment law, in particular the scope of application ratione personae of bilateral investment treaties.
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