The manifest excess of powers is one of the most invoked grounds for annulment in ICSID Arbitration. This thesis analyzes the main problems on this issue.

Mokslinio tyrimo problema Prieš keturis dešimtmečius Vienos konvencija dėl tarptautinių sutar-čių teisės įtvirtino, kad tarptautinė sutartis turi būti aiškinama laikantis geros valios principų, atsižvelgiant į joje vartojamų sąvokų įprastinę reikšmę sutar-ties kontekste ir atsižvelgiant į sutarties objektą bei jos tikslą. Šios taisyklės paprotinį statusą yra pripažinęs ir Tarptautinis Teisingumo Teismas. Nepai-sant to, kartais abejojama tiek dėl to, ar įmanomos aiškinimo normos, (t.y. ar ne tiksliau jas vadinti principais) tiek ir dėl jų naudingumo (t.y. ar ne geriau būtų palikti jas nerašytinėmis) – į tai dėmesį buvo atkreipusi ir pati Tarptauti-nės teisės komisija, rengusi šios taisyklės formuluotę. Kita vertus, jau sutarties rengimo metu buvo aiškūs nuomonių skirtumai dėl tarptautinių sutarčių aiški-nimo, o priėmus Konvenciją mokslinės Niuheiveno grupės atstovai prognoza-vo jos nesėkmę dėl jos „įkyrios, praktikoje nepritaikomos, konformizmo reika-laujančios pažodinio aiškinimo taisyklės.“ Šiuo požiūriu tarptautinės sutartys turėjo būti vertinamos kaip tęstinis šalių bendravimo ir bendradarbiavimo pro-cesas, kuris reikalautų į kontekstą atsižvelgti kur kas labiau nei tai numatė Vienos Konvencija, t.y. sutartis turėtų būti aiškinama siekiant nustatyti ben-druosius šalių ketinimus įsipareigoti sutartimi, o aiškinant sutartį būtina atsi-žvelgti į tarptautinės bendruomenės vertybes. Nepaisant šių akcentų, tekstas būtų išlikęs kaip reikšmingas šalių lūkesčių rodiklis:... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Research problem It has been four decades since conclusion of the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties. The Convention included a provision that a treaty shall be inter-preted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose. The customary status of this rule has been accepted by the International Court of Justice. Disregarding that, some question whether the rules, as opposed to principles, of interpretation are possible (i.e. would that not be better not to reduce them to writing). The International Law Commission itself has com-mented on this. On the other hand, the differences concerning interpretation of treaties were apparent already at the time the treaty was drafted. When the Convention was finally adopted, a few scholars representing the so-called New Haven approach opined that they expected the Convention to fail due to its “insistent emphasis upon an impossible, comformity-imposing textuality”. In their view, conclusion of an international agreement was a continuous process of cooperation and collaboration of the parties, which required a much more detailed focus on the intentions of the parties than the Vienna Convention rule of interpretation envisaged. They called for interpretation which would search for genuine shared expectations, together with the complementary appeals for ‘supplementing’ and ‘policing’ communications in accordance with... [to full text]

Depuis les années deux-mille, les Etats latino-américains ont activement participé aux arbitrages d’investissement administrés par le Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements (CIRDI). Ainsi, la pratique arbitrale de ce Centre trouve son origine dans les très nombreuses affaires latino-américaines qui ont permis d’encadrer la procédure et d’entériner certaines pratiques liées aux questions de fond de l’arbitrage. Les affaires latino-américaines ont enrichi la procédure en consacrant notamment la participation des tiers à la procédure arbitrale par le biais de l’amicus curiae (l’ami de la Cour). Cette innovation démontre la prise en compte de l’impact des questions d’intérêt public sur les populations concernées. Les divers standards juridiques insérés dans les accords d’investissement ont également été invoqués par les investisseurs afin de voir engagée la responsabilité internationale des Etats. Ainsi, les arbitres ont pu s’exprimer sur le caractère imprécis de certains standards comme celui du traitement juste et équitable. Les tribunaux ont dégagé certains étalons de mesure qui permettent d’évaluer et de comparer les éléments de l’affaire. Deux étalons de mesure semblent être pertinents dans le cas latino-américain. Il s’agit du respect de la stabilité du cadre juridique puis de la protection des attentes légitimes de l’investisseur. C’est dans ce cadre que les Etats latino-américains ont réagi différemment face au contentieux arbitral auprès du CIRDI, ce dernier ayant fait l’objet de critiques quant à sa légitimité et quant aux différentes condamnations prononcées par les tribunaux à l’encontre des Etats. Certains Etats ont pris l’initiative de dénoncer les accords internationaux donnant compétence au CIRDI et de créer un nouveau centre d’arbitrage sur le continent, capable de connaître les différends en matière d’investissement. Ceci dit, les décisions et sentences arbitrales rendues dans le contexte latino-américain constituent une source d’inspiration précieuse pour les arbitrages internationaux en cours et futurs. / Since 2001, Latin American Countries have actively participated in investment arbitrations administered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Because of that the way to arbitrate in this Centre base itself on a great number of Latin American affairs which helped to delimit the procedures and endorse some practices linked to the very founding principles of arbitration.The procedure of arbitration has been improved by Latin American affairs, by example with the help of the Amicus Curiae, which is the participation of a third party to the arbitral process. This innovation shows how much these questions of public interest are important for the populations concerned.The multiple juridical standards inserted in the investment agreements have often been brought forward by the investors in order to see the responsibility of some countries engaged in an international way. Arbitrators have been able to emphasize on the inaccuracy of some of these standards, such as the the fair and equitable treatment.Different ways to measure the elements of an affair have been brought to light by the tribunals. Two of them are present in the case of Latin American affairs: the compliance with the juridical framework stability and the protection of the investor's legitimate expectations.Latin American countries did take action differently in front of the arbitrations brought to the ICSID which was criticized for its lack of legitimacy and for its decisions in a great number of cases against these countries. Some countries renounced the international treaties giving the ICSID its arbitration rights and created a new arbitration center on the continent capable of giving a ruling in the matter of investment affairs. In spite of this the arbitral decisions and the arbitral awards in the Latin American context should be able to be inspirations for the future of arbitration.

TREATY SHOPPING IN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT LAW ABSTRACT Treaty shopping is a term used to describe a change of the corporate structure of an investor with the aim of falling within the scope of a chosen investment treaty that would otherwise not be accessible to the investor in order to take advantage of its benefits. This thesis offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of treaty shopping in international investment law with the aim of clarifying what the limits of treaty shopping are and whether they are currently taken into account by investment tribunals. The thesis first examines several related theoretical issues. After introducing the notion of treaty shopping and outlining the negative impacts it may have (Chapter 1), the attention is turned to the question of how to approach the nationality of legal persons in international law and under investment treaties, since nationality is the key concept that enables treaty shopping (Chapter 2). Different corporate nationality criteria - incorporation, seat, control and effective activities - are introduced and described. The chapter also strives to illuminate how nationality is understood under the ICSID Convention. The subsequent analysis focuses on the denial of benefits clauses (Chapter 3) that are inserted into some treaties to prevent treaty...