Transparency is the new black in investor-state arbitration: UNCITRAL's New Transparency Rules

Key Points:

For many investors, the increased levels of transparency in investor-state arbitration will constitute an advantage.

New transparency rules recently adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) will have important implications for Investor-State arbitration conducted under International Investment Agreements (IIAs) concluded after 1 April 2014.

In contrast with the tradition of arbitration as a confidential and private means of dispute resolution, the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (Transparency Rules) provide that:

• certain information about the dispute is to be made available to the public; and