Revising the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to Address Investor-State Arbitrations

The paper advocates for updating the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to distinguish between private commercial disputes and investor-State arbitrations. It argues that because investor-State cases implicate the public interest, the rules should be amended to improve public notice, document access, open hearings, and the use of amicus curiae briefs.

• The UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, originally adopted in 1976 for private commercial disputes, are increasingly being used for arbitrations under Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) involving challenges to sovereign State measures, a use not anticipated by the original drafters.
• Investor-State arbitrations differ fundamentally from private commercial arbitrations because they almost always involve the public interest, necessitating specific improvements to rules on public notice, access to documents, open hearings, and amicus curiae briefs.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2007). Revising the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to Address Investor-State Arbitrations. https://www.ciel.org/reports/revising-the-uncitral-arbitration-rules-to-address-invester-state-arbitrations-revised-cieliisd-december-2007-2/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Revising the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to Address Investor-State Arbitrations. 2007. https://www.ciel.org/reports/revising-the-uncitral-arbitration-rules-to-address-invester-state-arbitrations-revised-cieliisd-december-2007-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Revising the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to Address Investor-State Arbitrations |date=1 December 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/reports/revising-the-uncitral-arbitration-rules-to-address-invester-state-arbitrations-revised-cieliisd-december-2007-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2007revising, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Revising the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules to Address Investor-State Arbitrations}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/reports/revising-the-uncitral-arbitration-rules-to-address-invester-state-arbitrations-revised-cieliisd-december-2007-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }