Research and Analysis
Independent analysis of international investment law, arbitration, investment governance and the communities affected by investment.
Latest Posts
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The Future: Reforming ISDS for a Changing World
Reforming ISDS: From Dispute Settlement to Dispute Governance Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is no longer a settled field. For much of its modern history, investment arbitration developed through a network of bilateral investment treaties, multilateral instruments, investment contracts and arbitration… read more…
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Communities Left Behind: Power and Investment Projects
Investment law is often described as technical, specialised, even neutral. Yet the rules that govern cross-border investment are not impartial; they reflect particular interests and priorities, protecting capital while leaving communities vulnerable to disruption. Large-scale investment reshapes governance itself: it… read more…
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Investment Screening in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania: Who Gets to Enter?
Investment admission is never merely an Economic Decision. It is an exercise of regulatory power When a foreign investor decides to enter an African market, the question is often presented as a straightforward one: Is… read more…
Law & Arbitration
Case Files
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Case File 11 | Vattenfall v Germany
When the Energy Transition Meets Investment Protection Vattenfall v Germany rose from Germany’s decision to accelerate the phase-out of nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Vattenfall and… read more…
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Case File 10 | Burlington v Ecuador
When Environmental Harm Becomes an Investor Counterclaim Burlington v Ecuador is a particularly important case for the development of State counterclaims for environmental harm in investment arbitration. The Dispute: Burlington… read more…
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Case File 9 | Philip Morris v Uruguay
What happens when a State’s public-health regulations affect the value and use of a foreign investment? Philip Morris v Uruguay placed that question at the centre of an ICSID arbitration… read more…
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Case File 8 | Urbaser v Argentina
What happens when an investment dispute concerns a service essential to the enjoyment of a fundamental human right? Urbaser v Argentina placed the right to water, investor responsibilities and State… read more…
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Case File 07 | Heritage Oil & Gas Limited v URA (Uganda Revenue Authority)
When a Contractual Arbitration Clause Meets Statutory Tax Power The dispute Heritage Oil & Gas v URA (Uganda Revenue Authority) arose out of a petroleum Production Sharing Agreement concluded between… read more…
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Case File 06 | Nachingwea v Tanzania
Mining-Licence Cancellation and the Boundary Between Regulation and Expropriation The dispute Nachingwea v Tanzania concerned the Ntaka Hill Nickel Project in south-eastern Tanzania. The claimants’ group had developed the project… read more…
International Investment Law & Arbitration
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Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Institutions: A Global Guide
Understanding the ISDS institutions, rules and procedural frameworks that shape investor–State arbitration Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) does not operate through a single international court. Instead, investors and States may resolve… Read more…
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ISDS in Practice: ICSID and UNCITRAL compared
Two Procedural Pathways from Investment Disputes to Award and Enforcement International investment disputes do not all proceed through the same procedural framework. Although ICSID and UNCITRAL arbitration are both frequently… Read more…
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How Treaty Power Structures State Authority
Investment treaties do not merely regulate economic activity; they structure political and economic power. Through cases such as Bear Creek v Peru, Cortec v Kenya, and Nachingwea v Tanzania, this… Read more…
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Arbitration Process from Dispute to Enforcement
A step-by-step guide to how an international arbitration moves from the emergence of a dispute to the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award. International arbitration is not a single… Read more…
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Commercial Arbitration vs Investment Arbitration
Investment v Commercial Arbitration: Same arbitral machinery: different legal relationship and stakes. At first glance, investment arbitration under mechanisms like Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) under ICSID or UNCITRAL may look… Read more…
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Navigating International Arbitration: 60 Essential Terms and Concept
A practical guide to navigating international arbitration Navigating International arbitration requires an understanding of its own procedural and legal vocabulary. Terms such as seat, lex arbitri, lex causae, jurisdiction, award… Read more…
Sustainability & Communities
Communities and Investments
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Communities Left Behind: Power and Investment Projects
Investment law is often described as technical, specialised, even neutral. Yet the rules that govern cross-border investment are not impartial; they reflect particular interests and priorities, protecting capital while leaving… read more…
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Community Participation and the Politics of Inclusion
Once participation has legitimised the project, conflict migrates. Resistance is recast as breach. Community harm becomes investor loss. The village disappears; the tribunal takes its place. In investment arbitration, the… read more…
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When Harm Becomes a Dispute
Investment-related harm begins in lived experiences, loss of land, water contamination, and displacement, not in legal disputes. Yet when these harms enter formal dispute resolution, they are narrowed, relocated, and… read more…
Investment and Governance
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National Investment Governance in East Africa: Law, Investor Protection and Community Rights
Investment Governance in East Africa: Balancing Investment protection, State Interests and Community Rights East African countries, particularly Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, have a comprehensive national legal and regulatory framework that governs foreign investment. These laws aim to create an environment… read more…
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LAW & ARBITRATION
International investment law, arbitration, dispute settlement and the rules governing investment.
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Sustainability and Communities
Investment, development, environmental governance and the communities affected by them.
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INVESTMENT GOVERNANCE
The institutions, policies and regulatory frameworks that shape investment.