Interim Measures in International Investment Arbitration

Abstract

It is current practice today for arbitral tribunals to grant interim or provisional measures in international investment arbitration. Efficiency and impact of the measures are however largely debated in terms of legal grounds to grant those measures and because they are not self-executing, due to the fact that arbitral tribunals do not dispose of coercive power unlike state judge. This power to grant measures is then influenced by the will of the parties to respect the orders, even if non-compliance with orders can influence the decision making of the arbitrators in a final award. In practice, the time between the commencement of investment arbitration and the rendering of the final award can be rather long, and events occurring during this time could threaten the conduct of the proceedings and render the final award hollow. Interim measures may prove critical to preserving a party’s rights pending the final award.