Investor Presentaiton
68
INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: A SEQUEL
UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International
Trade Law) was established by the UN General Assembly and
works under the supervision of Member States from all UN regional
groups. The UNCITRAL Rules were initially created for the
purposes of commercial arbitration between private parties, but they
served as the basis for the rules governing the proceedings of the
Iran-US Claims Tribunal and there demonstrated their usefulness in
investor-State and inter-State arbitration.
62
The UNCITRAL Rules, initially adopted in 1976, were revised
in 2010. At present, most IIA arbitration under the UNCITRAL
Rules will likely be governed by the 1976 Rules. While the
revision took into account the applicability of the Rules to ISDS, the
UNCITRAL Working Group is considering the advisability of
developing an annex to the Rules that would apply specifically to
ISDS. As a separate matter, the Working Group has agreed that the
Rules shall provide for increased transparency of investor-State
arbitrations under IIAS."
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(iii) Commercial arbitration venues
Some IIAs permit investors to lodge their claims under the rules
of commercial arbitration centres, including, for example, the
Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the
London Court of International Arbitration, and the International
62 The 2010 Rules are presumed to apply to arbitration agreements
referring to the UNCITRAL Rules established after 15 August 2010. For
arbitrations based on offers extended prior to 15 August 2010, but accepted
after that date, the 1976 Rules presumptively apply. Thus, unless the
applicable IIA refers to the UNCITRAL Rules in force on the date of
commencement of the claim, IIAs that entered into force prior to 15 August
2010 will be deemed to refer to the 1976 Rules and arbitration will take
place pursuant to them.
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Ibid., pp. 405-408.
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See section II.L below.
UNCTAD Series on International Investment Agreements IIView entire presentation