Governments worldwide need the policy space now to issue economic support packages and protect their public health systems, without worrying that their budgets could face even more strain from an all-consuming wave of arbitration.
The dispute with Crystallex follows a ruling by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid), an international arbitration institution set up by the World Bank.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led States to adopt various public health measures that adversely affect foreign investors and exacerbate broader economic issues. In this climate, there is significant potential for disputes under the ECT.
Investors nonetheless may be well advised to consider restructuring intra-EU investments through third countries to ensure treaty protection for the future.
Shareholders in the now defunct Russian oil giant Yukos have seized Netherlands-based assets of two well-known vodka brands controlled by the Russian state in their most recent legal move to obtain $57 billion in damages from Moscow.