Over the last decades, international arbitration has become the foremost technique for resolving disputes between states, individuals and corporations. The expansion of the market for international arbitration is evidenced by the multiplication of arbitral institutions around the world. Some of...

Amici curiae are individuals or organisations who do not have the right to participate in the dispute as parties but want to intervene because the outcome of the proceedings may affect their interests. The participation of amici in investor-state arbitration has been justified as a useful tool...

The flux of foreign investment into the water industry that took place over recent decades had a significant impact on the relationship between water companies and states. The creation of a global network of international investment agreements also altered the method of adjudication of possible...

One of the most meaningful paths of China’s economic and diplomatic ‘charm offensive’ is the promotion of high-level contacts with the Portuguese-speaking countries. China is well aware of the potentials which derive from the use of the Portuguese language as a means of strategic...

This article discusses how Portuguese-speaking countries may take advantage of the linguistic and cultural bond that unites them to create an arbitration market. Apart from Brazil and Portugal, arbitration is still almost nonexistent in the Portuguese-speaking world. This article discusses the...

Investor-state arbitration was created with the hope of depoliticizing investment disputes. However, the adoption of the traditional party-appointment system, in which disputing parties play a direct role in the composition of the tribunal, is increasingly criticized. Many believe that party...

Amicus curiae is a developing feature of modern international investment arbitration. This chapter starts by describing how investment arbitration shifted from a confidentiality-based practice to a model that is more open to the participation of civil society. It then proceeds to discuss the...