“‘Biwater,’ Classic Investment Bases: Input, Risk, Duration,” New York Law Journal, December 31, 2008

Article 25(1) of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the Convention) sets out the parameters of the jurisdiction of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (the Centre) and thus of arbitral tribunals performing their duties under its aegis. The interpretation of those jurisdictional requirements has been intensely debated in academic writings and in case law. In particular, the requirement that the dispute “aris[e] directly out of an investment,” and more specifically the notion of investment under Article 25(1) of the Convention, is currently one of the most controversial topics in ICSID arbitration.

It is in the context of such controversies that, on July 24, 2008, one of the latest awards contributing to the notion of investment in Biwater Gauff (Tanzania) Ltd. v. United Republic of Tanzania was rendered (Decision available on the ICSID Web site).

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