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The CJEU ruled in case C-330/22 that the EU Council has a margin of discretion to set TACs above scientific advice for by-catch stocks within multiannual plans to avoid premature fishery closures. However, the Court affirmed that for target stocks, the MSY deadline is a strict obligation with no flexibility to depart from scientific advice. This overturned an earlier Advocate General's opinion which argued that the 2020 deadline applied to all stocks without exception.

The report examines the transition of the exhaustion of local remedies (ELR) rule from a customary international law requirement to one that is largely waived in modern investment treaties. It analyzes how tribunals interpret silence in treaties as a waiver and explores the legal distinctions between ELR as a jurisdictional versus procedural requirement. The document also details how ELR is applied as a substantive standard in denial of justice and expropriation claims, and concludes with recommendations for states to explicitly define ELR requirements and exceptions in their treaties to safeguard state sovereignty.