The Convergence of Recent International Investment Awards and Case Law on the Principle of Legitimate Expectations: Towards Common Criteria Regarding Fair and Equitable Treatment? Articles uri icon

publication date

  • June 2017

start page

  • 402

end page

  • 419

issue

  • 3

volume

  • 42

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0307-5400

abstract

  • International investors are currently subject to a level of uncertainty when invoking the provisions of the "intra-EU BITs", given their potential incompatibility with obligations arising from EU law. A number of arbitration awards by international investment tribunals on the basis of intra-EU BITs, and other international treaties such as the European Energy Charter, are an additional factor of uncertainty given that their application in the territory of Member States could be incompatible with EU law. However, the similarity between several recent awards from international investment arbitration tribunals regarding the FET standard and the jurisprudence of the Court on the principle of legitimate expectations offers the possibility of establishing common interpretation criteria in the future.

keywords

  • bilateral investment treaties; energy; eu law; european court of justice; fair and equitable treatment; international investment disputes; interpretation; legitimate expectation; legal certainty