I. Jurisdiction in general
The jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals may be based on investor-State consent,2 contained in an arbitration clause,3 in an investor-State contract, in investment codes of a host State, or in the provisions of investment treaties.4 In arbitration without privity, consent is one layer removed from particular investment transactions.5
Whereas jurisdiction considerations typically look at the dispute as a whole, admissibility is concerned with particular claims.6
Jurisdiction pertains to the competence of a tribunal to adjudicate a particular case, whereas questions as to applicable law are concerned with the rules the tribunal should apply.7
II. Competence of arbitral tribunals
The arbitral tribunal’s power to determine its own jurisdiction is called competence-competence.8
There must be a legal dispute for the existence of the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal.9 Once the jurisdiction of a tribunal is established, the host State can raise counter claims against the investor for the breach of the obligations it may owe to the host State.10
III. Scope of jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals can be divided into four subjects: personal jurisdiction (ratione personae); territorial jurisdiction (ratione loci); temporal jurisdiction (ratione temporis); and subject-matter jurisdiction (ratione materiae).
Practitioners should also consider the impact on jurisdiction of overlapping agreements and resulting obligations. For example, no jurisprudence constante exists on whether investors can use MFN clauses to import more favourable dispute resolution provisions from third-party Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).21
IV. Jurisdiction and admissibility: A 'twilight zone'
Jurisdiction and admissibility are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably.22 Classifying a matter as relating to jurisdiction, or alternatively as relating to admissibility, may have serious consequences for the parties and their dispute.23 Examples of issues arising from such classification include:
V. Concluding remarks
This note examines some important issues concerning jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals in international investment disputes including investor-State consent, competence of tribunals, personal, territorial, temporal, subject-matter jurisdiction, investment, MFN clauses, distinction between jurisdiction and admissibility, procedural requisites, and fork in the road clauses. In ICSID cases, the tribunal’s jurisdiction is determined under Article 25 of the ICSID Convention and the instrument of consent. Any determination of jurisdiction and admissibility will have important consequences for the parties.
Bibliography
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