Mass Claims And Consent In Investment Arbitration: An Irreconcilable Conundrum?

Introduction

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Law defines 'mass claims' as compensation sought when a large number of parties have suffered damages arising from the same diplomatic, historic, or other event.¹ In that sense, mass claims have existed for a long time. Given the diplomatic and historical nature of the term, mass claims have existed primarily on the public international law landscape, leaving little space for private international law interests to fall within its scope. However, given the relatively recent grafting of private international dispute settlement into the public international law stem through investment arbitration, there is a new-found room for mass claims. This has been subject to almost microscopic analysis in the Abaclat and subsequent Argentine Bond Crisis cases (Alemanni and Ambiente). With the recent case of Adamakopoulos v. Cyprus, the topic has once again gained traction.