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Abstract
On 29 June 2010, an ad hoc International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Annulment Committee annulled the 2007 Sempra Award for manifest excess of powers (within the meaning of the ICSID Convention), as it found that the Tribunal had failed to apply the correct law. The decision took into account the measures adopted by the Argentine Government to face the 2001 economic and political crisis and (like other previous awards and decisions on similar cases) raised the issue of the interpretation and application of the necessity defence in situations of economic emergencies. The approach of the ad hoc Committee on this particular point is the main focus of this note.
A significantly small spectrum of arbitrators – i.e. 15 – have sat on the panels making up 55 percent of the 518 investment treaty disputes known today. This has produced considerable, real or perceived, conflicts of interests, whether personal, professional or case- or issue-related. This article addresses the requirements of independence and impartiality of arbitrators under the institutional rules and the relevant ethical codes, together with a survey of the most significant case law on the matter.
Abstract
Global fish and seafood production has more than doubled in the last fifty years, with Europe accounting for 16% of the worldwide capture production. Fishing has not only contributed to a worldwide decrease in biodiversity, but it has also had a significant impact on marine ecosystems. And in this regard, as highlighted by the 2020 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, the Mediterranean Sea has showed the highest percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels out of all the FAO’s Major Fishing Areas. In the related scenario, climate change may worsen the problem and offer a new threat to the long-term survival of the fishing sector. Within this framework, a number of key questions arise: how can fisheries governance react (or not react) to the new challenges of climate change? What international and European policies are currently in place for dealing with this problem? And, lastly, are they adequate for the new climate change challenges? This article aims to raise the attention on these crucial issues by providing a preliminary overview of the major challenges that affect the resilience of fisheries management in the Mediterranean Sea and of the relevant international and European policies that have been developed so far.