Introduction

In the recent case of Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Limited and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Limited v. Kingdom of Belgium ("Ping An et al v. Belgium") the position of the Respondent prevailed in the jurisdictional phase. The relevance of this case lies in the fact that the existence of two successive BITs places the claims of the Ping An Group at the risk of falling into a black hole (i.e., a gap between two successive BITs that may deprive (allegedly) valid claims of a jurisdictional basis). The Claimants, fearing this outcome, have ...