RE: Location of BIT tribunal22 Dec 2024 11:25
As supplemental to the points made thusfar, whereas our BIT agreement is silent on the seat of arbitration, for guidance on UNCITRAL arbitration legal practice on selecting a seat of arbitration where the parties don't first agree on the issue, the Clifford Chance legal briefing entitled 'SILENT SEATS IN INVESTMENT TREATIES' clearly references the principle of neutrality in selection of the seat of arbitration (and as affirmed in the case-law such as Philip Morris Asia Ltd v Australia). The briefing makes it clear that to respect Article 16 (2) of the UNCITRAL rules the seat selected will not be on the territory of the respondent State or any State whose nationality is asserted by a claimant investor. In my opinion it most likely it will be either Singapore, Hong Kong or Washington.