Introduction

In this article, we address the role and potential impact that administrative rescission has on private-public projects under the Mexican legal system and with specific regard to its recently revised Hydrocarbon Law. First, a project's political risk vis-à-vis instance of non-arbitrability of administrative rescission and prohibition to pay compensation under the Mexican Hydrocarbon Law is outlined. Next, a state's responsibility under international law, specifically in light of investment treaty standards of protection, is explored as an alternative course of action. In the final section, we conclude by acknowledging the precarious position in which private-public projects are placed under the Mexican Hydrocarbon Law, as well as the challenges associated with entrenching an exhaustion rule to pursue local remedies in advance of international dispute resolution in national legislation.

This article was first published in Dispute Resolution Law International (2018) Vol 12 No 1 pp 41-57, and is reproduced by kind permission of the International Bar Association, London, UK. © International Bar Association 2018.