On the 19th of September 2023, Ukraine declared that it would be filing a complaint at the WTO against Slovakia, Hungary and Poland after all three states continued to impose an import ban on grain and other agricultural goods originating from Ukraine, despite the EU Commission lifting the ban. Grain and other agricultural products in transit are exempted from this ban. All three states, which are also part of the Visegrad Group, support their grain ban with the argument that an outright grain ban is necessary to protect domestic grain production – prim ..read more

Introduction The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has sparked many conversations on decolonization, colonial legacy, accountability, criticism of the monarchy, and more. One topic that has come up frequently, but is now, perhaps, being discussed with renewed vigour is the  acknowledgement of  harm caused by colonization and reparations that former colonial powers owe to  countries they oppressed and colonised.  Recently, countries such as Germany and Belgi ..read more

Introduction With heightened global scrutiny pertaining to environmental issues and domestic policy reforms, environment-related counterclaims have been on the rise. This rise of environment-related counterclaims in international arbitration reflects a significant shift towards the need for a fairer framework in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) mechanisms. Counterclaims emerge as a promising tool within the framework of international arbitration, having far-reaching consequences as compared to a defence on the merits. They constitute an independent cause of action, which implies tha ..read more

The world of international tax is witnessing a historical moment, mainly characterised by the proposal to adopt a global minimum tax for multinational enterprises (MNEs). The OECD, in its attempt to fight international corporate tax avoidance, has proposed the adoption of a 15% tax on large multinational groups (global minimum tax). This measure has been approved, yet not adopted, by 137 countries in what the OECD called the “Inclusive Framework”. The rationale of this coordinated effort lies in the attempt to contrast the use of low-tax jurisdictions and regulatory loopholes in the corporate ..read more

On 24 May 2023, Justice Fraser issued a comprehensive judgment in Infrastructure Services Luxembourg v Kingdom of Spain, rejecting Spain’s defences to the enforcement and recognition in the UK of an ICSID award against Spain.  The enforcement and recognition of intra-EU ICSID awards against Spain in non-EU jurisdictions have been the subject of extensive controversy. In Australia, the High Court judgment of 12 April 2023 ruled against Spain. In the United States, the courts are split, with a US District Court Order of 29 March 2023 in favour of Spain contradi ..read more

The Maldives is an island nation having around 5,40,000 people and dispersed across 185 islands. The country has been a development success enjoying robust growth coupled with considerable development of the country’s infrastructure and connectivity. It has also provided high-quality and affordable public services for its people, resulting in impressive health and education indicators, with a literacy rate approaching 100% and a life expectancy of over 78 years. Tourism is the main driver of economic growth, fiscal revenues, and foreign exchange earnings for the country. The country ..read more

The judgment handed down by the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) in October 2020 in Enka v Chubb was regarded as a seminal judgment which settled the longstanding issue of what law applies to arbitration agreements where the parties have not made a choice on governing law applicable to the arbitration agreement. Less than a year after that judgment of UKSC, in August 2021, the Maldives Supreme Court (MVSC) delivered its judgment in Sun v Hilton with notably comparable holdings on the issues. In this blog, the author will consider how the judgment of MVSC in Sun v Hilt ..read more

Maldives’ tryst with international investment law is intriguing. Despite its ample reliance on foreign investment, Maldives is neither party to the ICSID Convention nor signatory to any bilateral (BIT) or multilateral investment treaty (MIT). Although it signed its first BIT in 2017, with the UAE, the treaty is not yet in force. Thus, international law has minimal role to perform in the protection of foreign investment in Maldives. This is unsurprising given the legitimacy crisis of the international investment law regime, and its failure to regain the trust of its sovereign sta ..read more

Maldives’ relationship with international trade and investment is as old as its history. Traditionally, Maldives has been dependent on import and export for necessities. For instance, fish and coconut have been Maldives’ traditional exports; whereas, rice, cereals and other foodstuffs have been traditional imports. Post-independence, Maldives looked for newer areas to attract the foreign capital in its market. The Maldives has received the highest foreign investment in the tourism sector and is expected to receive investments in infrastructure projects and the real estate sector ..read more

The Editors of the Cambridge International Law Journal Blog endorses this statement by the Fellows of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law condemning the aggression perpetrated by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The events of the past month have sharply called our focus back to the acts of aggression taking place around the world. We condemn all abuses of international and humanitarian law and request that readers and contributors join the call by the Department of International and European Law at the National University of Kyi ..read more