Introduction

The Energy Charter Treaty[1] (ECT) is a multilateral treaty with 46 Contracting Parties which entered into force on 16 April 1998 and which, inter alia, protects investments in the energy sector. More importantly, it allows investors to directly start arbitral proceedings against a Contracting Party to the ECT if that state has violated any of its obligations on investment protection. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, to examine the investment regime of the ECT and, second, to analyze the investment dispute resolution mechanism under Article 26 of the ECT. ...