Ulpiano | 14 January 2022
The sound and fury of Venezuela’s ICSID denunciation
by Claudio Salas, Maria Camila Hoyos, and Soledad Peña
The fact that Venezuela still faces a considerable number of arbitrations
both under the ICSID Arbitration Rules and the ICSID Additional Fa-
cility, that the BITs ratified by Venezuela which favor ICSID arbi-
tration are still in force (and moreover contain lengthy sunset or
survival clauses), and that Venezuela may continue to face arbitrations un-
der the ICSID Additional Facility Rules (or even the ICSID Arbitration
Rules) in the years ahead, show that the denunciation of the ICSID Con-
vention was more a political display than an act with wide-ranging conse-
quences. Venezuela and other states that take issue with ICSID arbitra-
tion will need to work collaboratively to come up with a system that better
meets their concerns. If the Venezuela experience is any indication,
denouncing the ICSID Convention by itself will not provide much satis-
faction.
Having said that, the sound and fury of Venezuela’s denunciation of the
ICSID Convention has provided food for thought for tribunals and ac-
ademics alike. If any future denunciations do occur, these issues
will be relevant once again.
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