The economic crisis, worsened by the pandemic, has forced
Ecuador to place greater emphasis on its interest in attracting
national and foreign investment. Several measures and mechanisms
have been designed to achieve this objective. Among these
mechanisms, the investment contract draws the attention of several
investors since it offers stability in tax incentives1
and, tax stability for contracts that exceed US $ 100 million, and
large-scale mining projects. Another feature of the investment
contract, which attracts investors, is the possibility of using
arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism.
In August 2018, the Law for Productive Development, Attraction
of Investments, Employment Generation, Stability and Fiscal Balance
amended the Code of Production, Trade and Investment (COPCI) in
order to force the State to agree to arbitration to resolve
disputes generated in investment contracts2 and also to
agree to arbitration in investment contracts that exceed US $
