Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award

The award in ATA v Jordan is important as it raised various issues in investment arbitration. The award is the first where an arbitral tribunal decided that an arbitration agreement and accordingly a claimant’s right to arbitration were a separate investment under a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)...

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Main Authors: Miray Azaklı Köse, Melis Avşar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2021-12-01
Series:Public and Private International Law Bulletin
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/B02165E22F83409389A0B2133A01E863
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author Miray Azaklı Köse
Melis Avşar
author_facet Miray Azaklı Köse
Melis Avşar
author_sort Miray Azaklı Köse
collection DOAJ
description The award in ATA v Jordan is important as it raised various issues in investment arbitration. The award is the first where an arbitral tribunal decided that an arbitration agreement and accordingly a claimant’s right to arbitration were a separate investment under a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and ordered the respondent state’s judicial authorities to performcertain acts. Moreover, the award is also noteworthy for being the first investment arbitral award to order the termination of judicial proceedings performed in accordance with internal law of the respondent state. The question of whether an award issued by a commercial arbitration tribunal could be deemed an investment is one of the main issues in the award of the tribunal in ATA v Jordan. Additionally, ATA v Jordan is a rich academic source for researchers as it refers to several theoretically controversial subjects of investment arbitration. This study particularly focuses on the tribunal’s assessment of what constitutes an investment (i.e., assessments on jurisdiction ratione materiae) and how it determined whether the tribunal has jurisdiction ratione temporis. In this regard, this study considers the tribunal’s assessment of temporal jurisdiction, the concept of a breach that extends in time, and a breach consisting a composite act. Further, the award reveals that prominent issues such as characterization of the conflict and determination of the time when the conflict arises might be subject to complex procedures. The study also examines in detail the inherent difficulties with regard to the enforcement of restitution—a concept and a form of reparation that belong to general international law—within the context of investment arbitration. Article 54 of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention stipulates that Contracting States are obliged to recognize an award rendered by an ICSID tribunal; however, it only imposes an obligation of enforcement of the pecuniary obligations as if it were a final judgment of a court in the state concerned. While a hesitation of any infringement to the sovereignty of the states is at the forefront here, available means provided by general international law for the enforcement of the awards are also quite limited; moreover, the power of discretion belongs to the states, not to investors. In the last section of this study, the available means of general international law are mentioned.
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spelling doaj-art-89bbfde0501d449482c367a12d1194922025-08-20T02:57:00ZengIstanbul University PressPublic and Private International Law Bulletin2667-41142021-12-0141260564410.26650/ppil.2021.41.2.950359123456Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan AwardMiray Azaklı Köse0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9723-8618Melis Avşar1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7957-6851İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi, İstanbul, Türkiyeİstanbul Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeThe award in ATA v Jordan is important as it raised various issues in investment arbitration. The award is the first where an arbitral tribunal decided that an arbitration agreement and accordingly a claimant’s right to arbitration were a separate investment under a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and ordered the respondent state’s judicial authorities to performcertain acts. Moreover, the award is also noteworthy for being the first investment arbitral award to order the termination of judicial proceedings performed in accordance with internal law of the respondent state. The question of whether an award issued by a commercial arbitration tribunal could be deemed an investment is one of the main issues in the award of the tribunal in ATA v Jordan. Additionally, ATA v Jordan is a rich academic source for researchers as it refers to several theoretically controversial subjects of investment arbitration. This study particularly focuses on the tribunal’s assessment of what constitutes an investment (i.e., assessments on jurisdiction ratione materiae) and how it determined whether the tribunal has jurisdiction ratione temporis. In this regard, this study considers the tribunal’s assessment of temporal jurisdiction, the concept of a breach that extends in time, and a breach consisting a composite act. Further, the award reveals that prominent issues such as characterization of the conflict and determination of the time when the conflict arises might be subject to complex procedures. The study also examines in detail the inherent difficulties with regard to the enforcement of restitution—a concept and a form of reparation that belong to general international law—within the context of investment arbitration. Article 54 of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention stipulates that Contracting States are obliged to recognize an award rendered by an ICSID tribunal; however, it only imposes an obligation of enforcement of the pecuniary obligations as if it were a final judgment of a court in the state concerned. While a hesitation of any infringement to the sovereignty of the states is at the forefront here, available means provided by general international law for the enforcement of the awards are also quite limited; moreover, the power of discretion belongs to the states, not to investors. In the last section of this study, the available means of general international law are mentioned.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/B02165E22F83409389A0B2133A01E863international investment lawicsidratione temporisarbitration agreementright to arbitrationata v jordanbilateral investment treatydiplomatic protection
spellingShingle Miray Azaklı Köse
Melis Avşar
Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
Public and Private International Law Bulletin
international investment law
icsid
ratione temporis
arbitration agreement
right to arbitration
ata v jordan
bilateral investment treaty
diplomatic protection
title Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
title_full Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
title_fullStr Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
title_full_unstemmed Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
title_short Certain Issues Concerning International Investment Arbitration within The Context of The Ata v Jordan Award
title_sort certain issues concerning international investment arbitration within the context of the ata v jordan award
topic international investment law
icsid
ratione temporis
arbitration agreement
right to arbitration
ata v jordan
bilateral investment treaty
diplomatic protection
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/B02165E22F83409389A0B2133A01E863
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AT melisavsar certainissuesconcerninginternationalinvestmentarbitrationwithinthecontextoftheatavjordanaward