REVISITING THE RISK OF UNDESIRED APPEAL IN INVESTMENT TREATY ARBITRATION

Is Deference to the Tribunal’s Award Still Less Likely in the ICSID Context?

Counsel Alexander J Marcopoulos (Paris-International Arbitration) authored an article titled “Revisiting the Risk of Undesired Appeal in Investment Treaty Arbitration: Is Deference to the Tribunal’s Award Still Less Likely in the ICSID Context?” which was published in Arbitration International on April 3, 2021.

Picking up on criticism that ICSID annulment committees have attracted over the past decade, for taking an excessively interventionist approach to their review of ICSID awards, the article considers whether there has been any meaningful improvement in this area. Looking at recent ICSID annulment decisions, as well as the case law of arbitration-friendly jurisdictions, the article concludes that although ICSID ad hoc committees have recently shown more restraint, they nonetheless continue to interfere more with the tribunal’s reasoning and decisions than many courts exercising the same function.