Emergency Relief in Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Word of Caution

Emergency interim relief – a procedure widely available in commercial arbitration – is now being put to use in investment treaty cases. Five documented cases of emergency interim relief in the investment treaty context are known today. The article discusses these cases and uses them as a basis for assessing some of the issues that are likely to arise with the application of emergency interim relief in future investment treaty cases. The article argues that emergency interim relief in its current form, an instrument developed with commercial arbitration in mind, may not be entirely suitable for investment treaty arbitration, due to the unique features of the latter. While acknowledging the utility of emergency interim relief in investment treaty arbitration, the article suggests that the existing rules regarding emergency interim relief and the treatment of emergency relief applications by emergency arbitrators could be changed to adequately take into account challenges unique to investment treaty arbitration.