Singapore Court Upholds Intra-EU ECT Arbitration Award, Dismisses Objections Based On Komstroy

On 9 January 2026, the Singapore International Commercial Court issued its judgment upholding a £183 million Energy Charter Treaty ("ECT") award against Poland – in which it dealt with, for the first time, the controversial question of the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals over intra-EU investment disputes (i.e. disputes between EU investors and EU member states).

The setting aside application brought by Poland before the Singapore court arose from an underlying ECT arbitration commenced by UK investors against Poland over a certain coal project. Key arguments made by Poland to justify setting aside the award centred around, among others, its claim that the arbitral tribunal had no jurisdiction over the dispute following the CJEU's decision in Republic of Moldova v Komstroy ("Komstroy"), which held that the arbitration provisions of the ECT did not apply to intra-EU investment disputes.