- Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
- A treaty between two states establishing protections for investments by nationals of one state in the territory of the other, typically including standards against expropriation and fair and equitable treatment, with access to investor-state arbitration.
- Blocking Regulation
- EU and UK regulations that prohibit compliance with certain foreign sanctions, creating potential conflicts when parties are subject to overlapping sanctions regimes.
- Chorzow Factory Standard
- The international law principle requiring full reparation for treaty breaches, including fair market value compensation for expropriated investments.
- CPR Part 35
- The Civil Procedure Rules governing expert evidence in UK court proceedings, requiring experts to provide independent assistance to the court.
- Creeping Expropriation
- Indirect expropriation through a series of regulatory measures that cumulatively deprive an investor of economic value without formal title transfer.
- Currency Inconvertibility
- The inability to convert local currency into foreign currency due to government exchange controls, a covered peril under many political risk insurance policies.
- Direct Expropriation
- Formal seizure or nationalisation of an investment by the host state, transferring title or control to the state.
- Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)
- A multilateral treaty providing investment protections in the energy sector. The UK withdrew in 2025 but the sunset provision protects existing investments until April 2045.
- Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET)
- A treaty standard protecting investors against arbitrary, discriminatory, or opaque host state conduct, including frustration of legitimate expectations.
- Fair Market Value
- The price an investment would fetch in an open market transaction between willing parties, used to value expropriated investments under the Chorzow Factory standard.
- Force Majeure (Sanctions)
- A contractual defence where sanctions make performance impossible, illegal, or commercially unreasonable, depending on contract wording and applicable law.
- Full Protection and Security (FPS)
- A treaty standard requiring host states to provide physical and legal protection for foreign investments.
- Hull Formula
- The principle that expropriation requires prompt, adequate, and effective compensation, influential in international investment law.
- IBA Rules on Evidence
- International Bar Association rules governing expert evidence in arbitration, including party-appointed experts (Article 5) and tribunal-appointed experts (Article 6).
- ICSID (Int'l Centre for Settlement)
- The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the primary institution for investor-state arbitration under the ICSID Convention.
- Ikarian Reefer
- A leading UK case on expert witness duties requiring independence and transparency in expert evidence.
- Indirect Expropriation
- Government measures that substantially deprive an investor of economic value without formal seizure, equivalent to direct expropriation in treaty law.
- Investment Treaty Arbitration
- Arbitration between a foreign investor and a host state under a BIT, ECT, or other investment protection instrument.
- Investor-State Dispute Settlement
- The mechanism allowing foreign investors to bring arbitration claims directly against host states for alleged treaty breaches.
- Legitimate Expectations
- Investor expectations arising from host state representations, stable regulatory frameworks, or specific assurances, protected under the FET standard.
- Minimum Standard of Treatment
- The international law baseline for state conduct toward foreign nationals, informing FET and full protection and security standards.
- MFN (Most Favoured Nation)
- A treaty clause requiring a host state to treat investors from one treaty partner no less favourably than investors from any other state.
- National Treatment
- A treaty standard requiring host states to treat foreign investors no less favourably than domestic investors in like circumstances.
- Political Risk
- The risk that government actions, political instability, or geopolitical events will adversely affect investments or commercial arrangements.
- Political Violence
- War, civil war, insurrection, revolution, rebellion, or politically motivated civil commotion, a covered peril under PRTC insurance policies.
- PRTC Insurance
- Political Risk, Trade Credit and Political Violence insurance covering expropriation, political violence, currency inconvertibility, and related perils.
- Resource Nationalism
- State policies asserting greater control over natural resources through licence revocation, taxation, renegotiation, or nationalisation.
- Sanctions
- Government measures restricting economic activity with targeted countries, entities, or individuals, increasingly central to international arbitration.
- Secondary Sanctions
- Sanctions targeting third-country parties for dealings with sanctioned entities, creating extraterritorial compliance obligations.
- Sunset Provision (ECT)
- The Energy Charter Treaty provision protecting existing investments for twenty years after a contracting state withdraws, until April 2045 for UK-related investments.
- Transfer Risk
- The inability to transfer funds out of a country due to government restrictions, related to currency inconvertibility in political risk insurance.
- Umbrella Clause
- A treaty provision elevating contractual commitments to treaty protection, allowing investors to bring treaty claims for breach of contract.
- UNCITRAL Rules
- Arbitration rules published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, commonly used for ad hoc investor-state and commercial arbitrations.