Sanctions and investment-treaty arbitration: friendly forum for unfriendly measures?

Presentation

The effect of sanctions on businesses and contracts has been subject to a fair amount of disputes in national courts and international commercial arbitrations. But what about investment arbitration? In this panel we will look at the sanctions through public international law and investment arbitration prism:

• How have sanctions evolved in recent years?
• Are there new multilateral fora for the adoption of sanctions?
• What is the status of sanctions under public international law?
• Can sanctions be a delict by a state?
• Is freezing of assets an expropriation under investment treaties?
• Is the sanctioning process fair and equitable in the meaning of investment law and how, if at all, one can challenge this process?
• Are states ready to defend the use of sanctions as a national security tool and necessary expression of sovereignty in the face of these challenges?

In this panel we will discuss these and other aspects of interplay between sanctions and investment arbitration.