International Investment Disputes

Our lawyers have been involved in more than 60 decided and pending investment treaty disputes around the world, acting for both State and investor parties.

Members of our team have won some of the largest arbitral awards in the history of investment arbitration for investor clients and defeated other substantial claims for State clients. In recent years, our lawyers have secured four investment treaty awards above US$100 million in unrelated cases for investor clients, totalling more than $1.2 billion in damages. We have also reached a substantial (confidential) settlement in another treaty case for an investor client. We are regularly chosen to advise on some of the most complex and novel investor-State disputes, including those involving multiple parties and/or multiple treaties.

We have advised on cases under all of the world’s major institutional arbitration rules (including ICSID, ICSID (Additional Facility), UNCITRAL, PCA, SCC, LCIA and ICC rules). We have acted in investor-State disputes involving a wide range of economic sectors and industries, including energy, natural resources, mining, banking and finance, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation, communications, and media. A number of our recent cases have involved cutting-edge questions of jurisdiction and admissibility, including around issues of mass claims, bribery and corruption and the interplay between public international law and EU law.

Highlights of our lawyers’ experience in investor-State disputes include:

  • representing a US “Fortune 500” company in an ICSID (World Bank) arbitration arising out of the expropriation of two of the largest glass manufacturing facilities in Latin America, resulting in an award of more than US$450 million in favour of the client
  • representing one of the world’s leading private companies in an ICSID arbitration arising out of the expropriation of a major petrochemical facility and offtake agreement, resulting in an award of more than US$400 million in favour of the client
  • representing the largest private equity firm in Central and Eastern Europe in an SCC (Stockholm) Rules arbitration arising out of the expropriation of a bank by a national banking regulator, resulting in an award of more than US$200 million in favour of the client
  • representing a Finnish national in an UNCITRAL Rules arbitration against Egypt arising out of the expropriation of an iron ore mining and steel manufacturing project, resulting in an award worth more than $120 million in favour of the client
  • representing Dutch investors in an ICSID arbitration arising out of the loss of substantial bank deposits due to banking regulatory failures, resulting in a substantial award of damages against the host State
  • representing a Balkan State in an UNCITRAL arbitration brought by an Austrian investor involving issues of expropriation and State succession, resulting in an award in favour of the client defeating all claims
  • representing an Asian State in an UNCITRAL arbitration regarding a joint venture for a port modernisation project, resulting in a dismissal of all the claimant’s claims
  • representing a Latin American State in an ICSID arbitration regarding alleged expropriation of a major gold mining project following regulatory intervention on environmental grounds, resulting in the rejection all of the claimant’s claims
  • representing Eurotunnel in an ad hoc treaty arbitration against France and the United Kingdom in connection with the operation of the Channel Tunnel, resulting in an award in favour of the client against both States

Information about Fietta’s extensive work in connection with post-award challenges and enforcement procedures can be found here.