August 18, 2026 | International Arbitration | Investment Law India is reconsidering the framework governing its bilateral investment treaties at a time when governments around the world are attempting to strike an increasingly difficult balance between protecting foreign investment and preserving their own regulatory and judicial authority. Reuters reported on August 7, 2026 that the Indian government is reviewing its …

A foreign investor can, in certain circumstances, bring an international arbitration directly against a sovereign government, but the proposition is considerably more qualified than the phrase “an investor can sue a country” suggests. International investment arbitration does not ordinarily give every foreign shareholder, corporation, contractor or entrepreneur an unrestricted right to challenge whatever government decision has reduced the value of …

When an international arbitral tribunal orders a sovereign State to pay hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars to a foreign investor, the immediate political reaction is often framed around sovereignty: how can three arbitrators, sitting outside the country’s judicial system and possessing no democratic mandate from its citizens, impose a financial obligation capable of affecting public finances for …

​Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) has long been a cornerstone of international investment protection, designed to encourage cross-border investments by offering foreign investors a neutral forum to bring claims against host states. However, over the years, the system has faced increasing scrutiny over fairness, transparency, and its impact on national sovereignty. Today, ISDS reform has become one of the most critical …

Blockchain technology entered mainstream public consciousness through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but reducing blockchain to cryptocurrency obscures the features that make the technology potentially relevant to international arbitration. At its core, blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology in which records are maintained across a network according to defined validation rules, with cryptographic mechanisms helping participants verify the integrity …