Arbitration remains the most widely method to settle investor-state disputes.
It is a promising alternative to domestic courts or diplomatic protection for the settlement of investment disputes.
Through Arbitration, parties are seized with the chance to choose arbitrators of their trust and with expertise to decide the dispute.
The main advantage for an investor is access to an efficient international forum in the case of a dispute.
There are also two main advantages for the host state:
- First, by a “setting an example” routine, the State that allows for arbitration in investment issues will automatically attract new foreign investors that are also looking for such an encouraging environment;
- Second, and less evident, the State will be shielding itself against other international litigation mechanisms, as well as political pressure. Disputes centering around legal or economical technicalities – however significant in terms of the monetary value – are depoliticised and do not cause an undesired spill-over effect on then bilateral relations as a whole.
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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