Rajah & Tann Singapore has contributed an article titled “Divergent Approaches to the Nationality of Corporate Claimants in Banking and Finance Investor-State Arbitration” to Opinio Juris’ Symposium on International Investment Law & Contemporary Crises.
Issues of jurisdiction in investor–state arbitration are seldom clear-cut, and this holds equally true for jurisdiction ratione personae. In cases where the claimant is a corporate entity, a tribunal’s jurisdiction may be materially affected by the nationality of the entities or individuals exercising control over the claimant.
Authored by Partners Francis Xavier, SC, Regional Head of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group, and Matthew Koh from the International Arbitration Practice, the article examines two broad scenarios in which a tribunal may nonetheless assert jurisdiction despite differences between the nationalities of the claimant and its controlling interests. In each case, the determining factor is the precise language used in the investment treaty in question. The article further observes that, while claimants in global banking and finance (“GBF“) disputes originate from a limited group of states, GBF investor–state arbitration cases more frequently involve a divergence between the nationalities of claimants and their controlling interests than is typically observed in other investor-state arbitration cases generally.
The article distils two key lessons for states: investment treaty language should be aligned with states’ underlying policy objectives, and states must be mindful of the nationality requirements included in their investment treaties in light of the continuing significance of investor–state arbitration in resolving GBF disputes.
The full article is available here.
Find out more about our International Arbitration practice here.
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