International Trade Law Research Articles

Resolving Disputes in International investment through Arbitration

This paper brings forth an extensive analysis of the role of arbitration in resolving disputes in international investment, providing a comparative study of the existing frameworks and emerging alternatives. As cross-border investments continue to grow, disputes between foreign investors and host states have become increasingly common. International arbitration has emerged as the preferred method for resolving such conflicts due to its neutrality, enforceability, and flexibility. The paper explores the key legal instruments governing international investment arbitration, including Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and multilateral agreements like the Energy Charter Treaty. It also examines the two most widely used procedural frameworks: the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), comparing their distinct approaches to arbitration. While arbitration has proven effective, it faces growing criticisms, including high costs, lengthy proceedings, and concerns about transparency and arbitrator impartiality. The research also highlights regional initiatives, particularly in Latin America and China, which reflect diverse approaches to investment dispute resolution. By comparing these frameworks and emerging trends, the paper sheds light on the strengths, weaknesses, and future direction of international investment arbitration, emphasizing the need for a more transparent, equitable, and accessible system to balance the interests of investors and host states. The analysis concludes by assessing the potential impact of these reforms on the future of international investment law.

The Relationship of International Trade Law and International Environmental Law: Using Marine Law as the Point of Contact

The Relationship of International Trade Law and International Environmental Law: Using Marine Law as the Point of Contact

Article: Exploring Shortcomings in International Trade Law in Light of the Expansion of Artificial Intelligence

The objective of this paper is to explore the shortcomings in international trade law (ITL) in view of the expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and to propose some recommendations. AI is contributing to the development of international trade while giving rise to other concerns, such as nontariffs measures. Addressing the legal challenges posed by the integration of AI into various facets of society, including international trade, is of major importance. In this context, this paper explores a number of provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, those of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and ends with those of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Finally, the article proposes some recommendations to better take into account the concerns that AI may give rise to in the multilateral trading system. It highlights the need for close partnership between the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to better maximize the benefits of AI while minimizing the risks in the context of international trade. Also, it highlights the importance of harmonizing regulations on the trade of AI products and AI-driven trading and the need for a change in legal design that goes beyond mere incremental adjustments.

Recognising foreign solvent proceedings under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency: the Singaporean approach in Ascentra Holdings, Inc v SPGK Pte Ltd [2023] 2 SLR 421

To promote cooperation among stakeholders in different jurisdictions to facilitate coordinated insolvency proceedings, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (MLCBI) in 1997. The MLCBI harmonises certain procedural aspects of the cross-border insolvency process, though states may choose to make modifications when adopting the MLCBI in their own legal systems. This was completed in Singapore in 2017, and the Singapore Model Law (SML) can now be found in the Third Schedule to the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (2020 Rev Ed) (IRDA 2018). One topic that has been the subject of much debate internationally is whether foreign solvent proceedings can be recognised under the MLCBI or the corresponding provisions in various jurisdictions: the Nevada Bankruptcy Court first answered this question in the affirmative, but this was explicitly rejected by the High Court of England and Wales (EWHC) in Re Sturgeon Central Asia Balanced Fund Ltd (in liquidation) (No 2) (Re Sturgeon). In Ascentra Holdings, Inc (in official liquidation) v SPGK Pte Ltd (Ascentra), the Singapore Court of Appeal (SGCA) held that foreign proceedings concerning solvent companies may be recognised under the SML. This commentary addresses the salient points of the SGCA's judgment and highlights the positive impact of this gradual harmonisation of the approaches taken in different jurisdictions to the MLCBI. Through a comparative analysis of the conflicting Re Sturgeon decision, three additional justifications based on the preparatory documents pertaining to the MLCBI, relevant authorities in the UK and a purposive reading of the MLCBI are provided for the approach in Ascentra. It is contended in closing that these reasons support the argument for definitively overruling the Re Sturgeon decision in the UK.

The efficient enforcement challenge of secured transactions law reforms in civil law systems—self-help repossession, strict foreclosure, and other methods for the acceleration of enforcement of security interests

Abstract Although the forging of an efficient system for enforcement of security interest is one of the central expectations of secured transaction law reforms in civil law systems, the results hardly give reason for satisfaction. As the reforms tend to be supported and influenced by various international organizations’ projects (especially the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law), most out-of-court methods of enforcement of security interests have played a central role. Yet due to civil law’s general hostility towards self-help as such, either the introduction of the concept has been rejected or the local limited-reach kin have been merely ‘paper tigers’. Similarly, although security interests on several types of collateral (accounts, investment property) or on the workhorse of the English financial system—the floating charge—have also been enforced extrajudicially (save the exceptions), little attention has been attributed to these enforcement modalities. The same applies to strict foreclosure in civil law systems still being prohibited, or restricted, and thus rarely resorted to, due to the inherited hostility towards the doctrine of lex commissoria. Rethinking local laws on preliminary and temporary court orders to match them with such globally known ex parte preliminary measures as the English Mareva Injunction or the French Saisie Conservatoire, which allow creditors to swiftly freeze debtors’ assets and thus substitute self-help repossession, has also been given short shrift. The enforcement segment, consequently, remains the Achilles’ heel of secured transaction law reforms in civil law systems. This article desires to contribute to reform literature by addressing these deficiencies and by offering tested, fully or partially fitting, functional equivalents of self-help repossession.

Le concept du contrat du transport maritime de marchandises et les Conventions qui le rglementent

Somalian Piracy constitutes one of the main threats not only to internAlthough the contract of carriage sometimes looks similar to other contracts such as the contract of affreightment and tonnage contract, the legal system that governs it is different. Several Conventions, Protocols or International Rules regulate the carriage of goods. We can mention the American Harter Act, the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 25 August 1924 (The Hague Rules), the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 23 February 1968 (Visby Rules), the Protocol amending the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading of 25 August 1924 (The Hague Rules), as amended by the Protocol of 23 February 1968, signed at Brussels on December 21st, 1979. We can also mention the United Nations International Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea adopted in Hamburg on March 31st, 1978 (Hamburg Rules). In an effort to organize the maritime transport of goods in an equitable manner, each Convention is intended to fill the gaps of the previous one and maintain a balance between the various parties to the contract of carriage. At the beginning of the century, each mode of international carriage continues to be governed by autonomous Rules. For the sake of globalization of trade and trade facilitation, jurists acted for the unification of the rules of international carriage. Thus, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted on July 3rd, 2008, the "Draft of Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea". On December 11, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the "the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea", and recommended that the rules laid down in the Convention are from now on known as the "Rules of Rotterdam". This Convention has since then been open to ratification by the states. It shall enter into force one year after the ratification meeting at least twenty states. These Rules have advantages, but they also have some disadvantages. A study of these advantages and disadvantages is interesting.: Piracy, international legal system, International Law, sovereign territory, non-liquet, UN resolutions, Universal Jurisdiction, United Nations Charter, Non-State Actor

Legal Reform of Indonesia’s Nickel Export Ban (Indonesia-Europa)

Introduction: Indonesia's nickel export restriction policy is regulated in the Minister of Trade Regulation No. 96 of 2019 concerning Export Requirements for Mining Products from Processing and Refining which is in line with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 11 of 2019 and is the cause of a lawsuit brought by the European Union to the WTO for Indonesia's violation of the provisions of Article XI.1 of the GATT 1994 WTO agreement related to discrimination against export products in the form of nickel ore.Purposes of the Research: The purpose of this research is to analyze the rules of the prohibition of Nickel Exports Based on International Law reviewed based on the theory of state sovereignty in Indonesia.Methods of the Research: This research uses normative legal research using a statutory approach and conceptual approach, and uses descriptive analysis techniques supported by two legal materials, namely primary legal materials and secondary legal materials.Results of the Research: Indonesia certainly has a strong reason why these restrictions are carried out. In addition to national economic growth, it also realizes sustainable development. This research is conducted to describe the policy through the lens of international trade law and Indonesia's authority as a sovereign state.

Neha Mishra, International Trade Law and Global Data Governance: Aligning Perspectives and Practices Hart Publishing, 2024

Neha Mishra, International Trade Law and Global Data Governance: Aligning Perspectives and Practices Hart Publishing, 2024

Talent Development Pathways for Integrating Law and Business in Chinese Universities

The practice of “integration of law and business” in universities has a history of nearly twenty years in China. With the maturity of China’s market economy system, the cultivation of compound talents of law and business become more and more important in the future development of business majors and law majors in universities. This paper mainly adopts literature research method and induction and summary method to collect the relevant literature of the “integration of law and business” curriculum construction and talent training path in the four platforms, and summarizes and analyzes the specific practices in the university running practice. Through research, it is found that in the past five years, the trend of “integration of law and business” in running schools in domestic colleges and universities has been rising, and many business majors in colleges and universities implement the integration of law and business in related courses such as “Economic Law”, “International Economic Law” and “International Trade Law”. Construction of the team of compound teachers of law and business and emphasis on practical teaching are the core part of the cultivating compound talents of law and business. Combing through the historical practice of the training of complex talents of law and business in domestic colleges and universities is helpful to provide reference and guidance for other colleges and universities to carry out the reform of the integration of law and business education, and is conducive to deepening and improving the training mechanism of complex talents of law and business, and train talents who can truly meet the needs of economic and social development.

Peran Panel dan Appellate Body dalam Penyelesaian Sengketa di WTO

The aim of the research is to determine the role of panels and the Appellate Body in resolving disputes at the WTO. The research method used in this paper is a research method with a normative juridical approach with descriptive-analytical research specifications. The dispute resolution mechanism in the WTO involves five main stages. The first stage is consultation, where the disputing countries try to resolve the problem directly. The second stage includes settlement efforts through good services, conciliation and mediation. The third stage is the establishment of a panel, where independent experts examine the dispute and prepare a report. The fourth stage is the appeals process, where the appeals body reviews the panel's decision if there is an appeal. The final stage is the implementation of the decisions and recommendations issued. The panel is formed within approximately 90 days of the application, consisting of independent experts selected by the DSB. The panel works based on the Terms of Reference (ToR) which regulate the procedures for resolving disputes and is tasked with carrying out an objective assessment of the problems faced, assisting the DSB in making recommendations. If consultations fail, the aggrieved country can request the formation of a panel from the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). If the panel fails to reach a solution, they must submit a written report to the DSB. This process ensures dispute resolution within a certain time period to ensure legal certainty. In addition, there is an appeal mechanism through the Appellate Body which consists of seven international trade law experts. The appeal process must be completed within 90 days, and the Appellate Body report is final and must be adopted by the DSB.

International law: from fragmentation to integration? an analysis of the relationship between international trade law and international labor law in multilateral and regional trade law frameworks

International law: from fragmentation to integration? an analysis of the relationship between international trade law and international labor law in multilateral and regional trade law frameworks

Hometown Heroes: Onshoring, Promoting Local Content & WTO Law

Abstract This article examines the complexities and challenges associated with onshoring manufacturing through local content requirements within the context of World Trade Organization (WTO) law. Governments have intensified efforts to relocate production within their territories, leveraging local content requirements and incentives. This shift is primarily justified by the need for supply chain resilience, public health, and national security, aiming to mitigate risks associated with reliance on foreign suppliers during crises. However, these strategies may conflict with WTO obligations, particularly those concerning trade-related investment measures and subsidies. Using pharmaceuticals as a case study, this article explores the rationale, scope, and implications of WTO rules on local content policies. The analysis provides insights into how nations navigate the delicate balance between enhancing domestic capabilities and adhering to international trade laws.

TINJAUAN HUKUM PRINSIP SAFEGUARD DALAM PROTEKSI PRODUK PERTANIAN INDONESIA

This journal discusses the principles of safeguards in protecting Indonesian agricultural products from surges in imports of agricultural products when it is expected to cause serious harm to the domestic industry in terms of International Trade Law and further elaboration in Indonesian National Law. This study uses a normative legal approach, namely using a literature study in the form of a review of the literature. The application of safeguards to Indonesian agricultural products can be done by setting the amount of import duty rates or setting import quota restrictions and setting time limits. The Indonesian government always seeks to harmonize domestic laws and regulations with international regulations for the protection of domestic farmers and industries in the context of food sovereignty, facilitating trade and increasing exports and preventing trade disputes in international forums.

The Role of the State as a Seller in International Trade Law View

Activities buy and selling between countries are carried out for countries that have an interest One each other to fulfill the needs will the well-being of its people. Already duly given clear settings will things that are allowed done and what not can be done to create its harmonious relationship between related countries. Trading international law trading binding internationally for countries in the world. Operate law trading internationally, especially countries as seller Lots lack in matter rules and their enforcement so that happen complicated problem For resolved. Study This use study normative. Legal study materials This is material primary, secondary, and tertiary law. Research results show that representatives of internal countries trading internationally as sellers is a State-Owned Enterprise Company that carries out sales to abroad get the profit used For the interests of the Indonesian state. Completion dispute trading there are two options, via arbitration or negotiations World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO selected if the country concerned in dispute is a WTO member. Arbitrage is chosen If a party-related dispute wants maximum confidentiality and a fast and easy process For holding the verdict.

International Trade Law of the World Trade Organisation: Examining the Impact and Legal Implication of its Compliance Mechanisms within the CEMAC Customs Union

International Trade Law of the World Trade Organisation: Examining the Impact and Legal Implication of its Compliance Mechanisms within the CEMAC Customs Union

THE (IN)EFFECTIVENESS OF REQUIRING PRIOR EXHAUSTION OF LOCAL REMEDIES IN INVESTMENT ARBITRATION

The international investment-law regime continues to be mired in a legitimacy crisis that has given rise to important multilateral reform efforts through the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. A key reform proposal is centred on the introduction of an exhaustion-of-local-remedies requirement. This article critically evaluates the exhaustion-of-local-remedies rule in the context of international investment law, and challenges its interpretation where such clauses already exist in contemporary investment law. The article concludes that investment tribunals have subverted these clauses in various ways, and considers the legal challenges states would need to address to best prevent the subversion of these clauses by investment tribunals in future.

The Right to Water as a Shaping Force in International Economic Law

Abstract While the road leading to the recognition of a human right to water has been rather bumpy, it has nonetheless had a significant impact on international economic law. It operates as a shaping force in international trade law and international investment law as the two main branches of international economic law by incremental change rather than radical transformation. Against this background, the present article seeks to identify where and by virtue of what mechanisms one may expect the most profound and lasting changes in and to international economic law under the impact of the human right to water.

International Trade Law and the World Trade Organization: Promoting Global Economic Cooperation

International commerce has emerged as a key EG driver in our more interconnected world, boosting both national prosperity and individual well-being. This study intends to investigate how the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international trade law (ITL) are related and what function they play in fostering international economic cooperation. Data collection and analysis will be done using a quantitative research approach. The data collection strategy will involve the creation and distribution of online surveys to individuals interested in ITL and the WTO. The survey questionnaire will encompass inquiries about various aspects, including the impact of ITL on economic cooperation, the effectiveness of the WTO's policies, and other relevant variables. A sample size of 600 individuals, who are knowledgeable about or involved in ITL and the WTO, will be selected. Statistical analysis programs like SPSS will be used to analyze the data from the online surveys. The data will be employed to examine the relationship between ITL, the WTO, and their influence on global economic cooperation. The collected data through the questionnaire will be instrumental in achieving the objectives of this research study. The 600 questionnaires distributed were arranged in the form of a Likert Scale. This information will be gathered in order to better understand how ITL and the WTO affect international economic cooperation by shedding light on their respective contributions to that cause.

Sustainable Development as a Wicked Problem in Investment Arbitration

Abstract References to ‘sustainable development’ and ‘sustainability’ can be found in decisions of investment arbitration tribunals and submissions from disputing parties. By relying on the concept of ‘wicked problem’, this article highlights the failure to articulate any clear relevance of sustainable development in the adjudication of investment disputes and structural limitations imposed by investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). It proceeds in four steps. First, the article defines wicked problems and their distinguishing properties. Second, it shows how tribunals have used sustainable development in a way that evidences these distinguishing properties. Third, in light of submissions from respondent States and claimants, the article shows that ISDS imposes structural limitations on narratives that relate to sustainability and sustainable development. Finally, it examines the discussions on sustainability under the umbrella of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Working Group III and stresses the need for a political resolution outside ISDS proceedings.

New Cross-Border Standards of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Arbitration

The paper deals with topical issues of improving the regulation at the international level of the rules concerning the conduct of arbitrators in international commercial and investment arbitration. Two new documents are highlighted: the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in the Settlement of International Investment Disputes, prepared by the working group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the 2024 edition of the guidelines of the International Bar Association (IBA) regarding conflicts of interest in international arbitration. The Code of Conduct for Arbitrators is applied in the framework of International Investment Dispute (IID) proceedings, but may be applied in the framework of proceedings in any other dispute by agreement of the parties to the dispute. Along with the requirements for the independence and impartiality of arbitrators, the Code introduces restrictions on the simultaneous performance of several functions, as well as establishes obligations to exercise diligence, conduct proceedings in good faith and competently, not delegate their decision-making responsibilities, maintain the confidentiality of proceedings; the requirement for the reasonableness of arbitrators’ fees, as well as provisions governing the role of tribunal assistants. The IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration are the most popular source of «soft law» among the sets of rules of international origin governing the impartiality and independence of arbitrators. It is often used in arbitration and judicial proceedings in various legal systems when considering issues related to the assumption of the functions of arbitrators, their appointments and challenges. The novelties introduced into this Manual, taking into account the 10-year practice of applying the previous edition, expand the list of circumstances to be disclosed, clarify a number of statements.