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The compatibility of ISDS clauses in intra-EU disputes with EU law - An analysis of the extent of application of the Achmea judgement on bilateral and multilateral investment treaties

Rinaldo Iversen, Michelle LU (2019) JURM02 20191
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
Within the area of international investment law investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses are commonly used in order to provide investment protection. The ISDS mechanism can be described as a system under which an investor can arbitrate a dispute against a host state, based on an investment agreement concluded between the host state and the national state of the investor. As this system has been commonly used in bilateral investment treaties between EU Member States, the question of the compatibility of those provisions with EU law emerged in the Achmea judgement. This provided the fundamental basis for the research questions in this thesis.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the extent of the application of the Achmea... (More)
Within the area of international investment law investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses are commonly used in order to provide investment protection. The ISDS mechanism can be described as a system under which an investor can arbitrate a dispute against a host state, based on an investment agreement concluded between the host state and the national state of the investor. As this system has been commonly used in bilateral investment treaties between EU Member States, the question of the compatibility of those provisions with EU law emerged in the Achmea judgement. This provided the fundamental basis for the research questions in this thesis.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the extent of the application of the Achmea judgement and the effects on the future of investment arbitration within the EU. In order to approach the applicable sources appropriately, the comparative methodology is applied. The perspective will be an internal EU perspective, compared with a public international perspective, thereby outlining the differences in the approach.

Firstly, this thesis analyses the argumentation by the Court of Justice of the EU in the Achmea judgement. Thereby demonstrating the importance of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU and the autonomy of the EU legal order. Secondly, the extent of the application of the Achmea judgement is researched particularly regarding the Energy Charter Treaty, as it demonstrates a treaty signed by the Member States and the EU individually. This presents the divergence of the opinions between the EU institutions and the international tribunals. Thirdly, this divergence is further analysed, which indicates the practical effects of the issue regarding the compatibility of the existence of the ISDS mechanism within the EU. The reliability on investment arbitration within the EU is at the core of the concluding analysis. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
”Investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) bestämmelser är vanligt förekommande i internationella investeringsavtal för att säkerställa det avtalade investeringsskyddet. ISDS systemet innebär att en investerare direkt kan påkalla ett skiljeförfarande mot en EU medlemsstat, baserat på det underliggande investeringsavtalet. Bilaterala investeringsavtal som innehåller en sådan ISDS klausul är vanligt förekommande mellan EU medlemsstater och med anledning av detta uppstod frågan om dessa ISDS klausuler är förenliga med EU-rätten. Denna fråga sattes på sin spets i Achmea-fallet, vilket är den grundläggande bakgrunden till denna uppsats.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera Achmea-fallet och dess tillämpningsområde samt de praktiska effekter... (More)
”Investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) bestämmelser är vanligt förekommande i internationella investeringsavtal för att säkerställa det avtalade investeringsskyddet. ISDS systemet innebär att en investerare direkt kan påkalla ett skiljeförfarande mot en EU medlemsstat, baserat på det underliggande investeringsavtalet. Bilaterala investeringsavtal som innehåller en sådan ISDS klausul är vanligt förekommande mellan EU medlemsstater och med anledning av detta uppstod frågan om dessa ISDS klausuler är förenliga med EU-rätten. Denna fråga sattes på sin spets i Achmea-fallet, vilket är den grundläggande bakgrunden till denna uppsats.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera Achmea-fallet och dess tillämpningsområde samt de praktiska effekter som har uppstått för skiljeförfaranden gällande investeringsskydd inom EU. De källor som används i denna analys kräver en tillämpning av den komparativa metoden. Vidare appliceras ett internt EU-rättsligt perspektiv och ett folkrättsligt perspektiv, som därefter ställs mot varandra genom användningen av den komparativa metoden.

Inledningsvis analyseras EU-domstolens argumentation i Achmea-fallet, vilket framhäver vikten av EU-domstolens exklusiva jurisdiktion samt EU-rättens autonoma ställning. Därefter, analyseras hur extensivt Achmea-fallet kan tillämpas, särskilt i förhållande till Energy Charter Treaty som är ett exempel på ett multilateralt investeringsavtal som har tillträtts av både EU-medlemsstater och EU. Denna analys återspeglar de splittrade åsikterna av EU-institutioner och internationella skiljedomstolar gällande Achmea-fallets tillämpningsområde. Avslutningsvis analyseras denna splittring ytterligare baserat på den komparativa metoden, vilket leder till en analys av de praktiska effekterna på ISDS klausulers förenlighet med EU-rätt. Uppsatsens slutsats sätter diskussionen om förutsebarhet i investeringsrelaterade tvister inom EU på sin spets. (Less)
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author
Rinaldo Iversen, Michelle LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM02 20191
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EU Law, International Investment Law, Achmea judgement, ISDS provisions, ISDS clauses, ISDS mechanism, bilateral investment treaties, Energy Charter Treaty, international law
language
English
id
8975433
date added to LUP
2019-06-17 14:38:32
date last changed
2019-06-17 14:38:32
@misc{8975433,
  abstract     = {{Within the area of international investment law investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses are commonly used in order to provide investment protection. The ISDS mechanism can be described as a system under which an investor can arbitrate a dispute against a host state, based on an investment agreement concluded between the host state and the national state of the investor. As this system has been commonly used in bilateral investment treaties between EU Member States, the question of the compatibility of those provisions with EU law emerged in the Achmea judgement. This provided the fundamental basis for the research questions in this thesis. 

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the extent of the application of the Achmea judgement and the effects on the future of investment arbitration within the EU. In order to approach the applicable sources appropriately, the comparative methodology is applied. The perspective will be an internal EU perspective, compared with a public international perspective, thereby outlining the differences in the approach. 

Firstly, this thesis analyses the argumentation by the Court of Justice of the EU in the Achmea judgement. Thereby demonstrating the importance of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU and the autonomy of the EU legal order. Secondly, the extent of the application of the Achmea judgement is researched particularly regarding the Energy Charter Treaty, as it demonstrates a treaty signed by the Member States and the EU individually. This presents the divergence of the opinions between the EU institutions and the international tribunals. Thirdly, this divergence is further analysed, which indicates the practical effects of the issue regarding the compatibility of the existence of the ISDS mechanism within the EU. The reliability on investment arbitration within the EU is at the core of the concluding analysis.}},
  author       = {{Rinaldo Iversen, Michelle}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The compatibility of ISDS clauses in intra-EU disputes with EU law - An analysis of the extent of application of the Achmea judgement on bilateral and multilateral investment treaties}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}