Introduction

In the first 11 months of 2006, at least 25 investor-State cases were filed under international investment agreements (IIAs), 18 of which were filed with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).[1] If confirmed at that level, this would be the lowest number of known treaty-based cases filed since the year 2000, hinting to a considerable slow down in the number of cases launched. However, given the fact that the ICSID arbitration facility is the only facility to maintain a public registry of claims, this could also indicate a shift of arbitration ...