Despite the huge impact of the corona crisis, fortunately work has continued at a relatively high level. First and foremost, I am pleased that my article on The changing ecosystem of Dutch BITs has just been published in Arbitration International, arguably one of the best arbitration law reviews. Second, my chapter on The ICS and…
The fate of intra-EU BITs and the new MIC On 30th January 2020 the 5th EFILA Annual Conference took place in London. 150 participants listened to keynote speaker Meg Kennear (SG of ICSID) and discussed alternatives to the intra-EU BITs, which are about to be terminated. The next day, I gave a guest lecture at…
This is the time when we look back and review this year. Despite all the lights and festive atmosphere surrounding Christmas Eve, there is only one conclusion: 2019 marks the entering of the Dark Ages of Protectoinism. Already in November 2016 I had entitled my guest lecture at Innsbruck University “The CETA drama: Entering the…
The past months and weeks have been extra-ordinarily busy. This is a short summary of the past activities and outlook to some upcoming events. In September & October I taught again my course “International Investment Law” at the Free University Brussels – Brussels Diplomatic Academy, with many very enthusiastic students. At the beginning of October…
Q2 of 2019 has been busy again and lots of developments have happened. I have commented on the long-awaited Opinion 1/17 of the Court of Justice of the EU in which it approved the CETA-style Investment Court System (ICS). Here is my blogpost for the Practical Arbitration blog and an earlier version in Borderlex. The…
The first quarter of 2019 has been very busy indeed. Here are some highlights. On 31 January EFILA hosted its 4th Annual Conference in London. More than 100 participants attended the conference. The keynote speaker was Colin Brown of DG Trade focusing on the Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). As Secretary General of EFILA I am…
The past year has been very exciting and successful regarding all my various activities. In this blog I highlight some of the most important developments and achievements and will provide an outlook for 2019. NL-Investmentconsulting’s growing portfolio My legal advisory has been significantly growing over the past work, focusing mainly on intra-EU BIT and intra-EU…
On Thursday, 25 October 2018, Prof. George A. Bermann (Columbia University New York) will deliver the 4th EFILA Annual Lecture. The title is: “Recalibrating the European Union—International Arbitration Interface” Click here to register! On 18 October, the Dutch Arbitration Day will take place in Amsterdam. The theme of this year’s conference will be: Technology and…
After having digested the Achmea judgment, I reflect in this blog, which was published on the Kluwer Arbitration blog, on the possible way forward. The Achmea judgment, passed on the 6th of March 2018, and addressed in the Kluwer blog posts available here and here, prompted us to think about what could be the way…
The CJEU’s Achmea judgment has prompted me to write several blogposts. This one was published by Practical Law Arbitration Blog and provides a first – rather pessimistic – assessment of the CJEU’s judgment. Below I discuss the wider implications of the Achmea judgment, for example also for the ECT. In his Opinion, Advocate General Wathelet…
In November 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued its decision on the Spanish support measures for renewable energy sources. As will be recalled, Spain is currently facing about 30 investment-treaty disputes based on the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and various bilateral investment treaties (BITs) for the retroactive withdrawal of its support measures for the production…
A look back at NL-Investmentconsulting’s year 2017 was a very busy year with a nice mix of different activities and achievements. On the arbitration side, I am glad to have been able to provide my legal expertise on the interaction between EU law and investment law in 2 ICSID disputes (including one Annulment procedure). On…
