Investment Arbitration and India: 2020 Year in Review Thursday, February 25, 2021
For the Indian foreign direct investment landscape, 2020 was a mixed bag of equity inflows, policy changes, arbitration awards and innovative dispute resolution strategies. In September 2020, FDI equity inflows in India crossed the USD 500 billion milestone, computed over a period of 20 years starting from April 2000.
1 While global FDI witnessed a steep decline of 42%, India noted a 13% increase in FDI inflows.
2 India’s tightened scrutiny of FDI from her neighbours and FDI in e-commerce invited intense discussion.
However, the culmination of key long-standing arbitration proceedings initiated by foreign investors against India under international investment treaties invited global attention, especially in the final quarter of 2020. These disputes were initiated by foreign investors to challenge measures adopted by the Indian government and State entities that adversely impacted foreig
Cairn V. India - Investment Treaty Arbitration Friday, January 8, 2021
Introduction
On December 21, 2020, the international arbitral tribunal (Tribunal) constituted in the case of Cairn Energy Plc and Cairn UK Holdings Limited (collectively ‘Cairn’) v. The Republic of India1 held that India had failed to uphold its obligations under the 1994 Bilateral Investment Treaty between Republic of India and United Kingdom (India - UK BIT) and under international law. The Tribunal ordered India to compensate the Claimants for the total harm suffered by Cairn as a result of India’s breaches. Reports of passing of the award became public on December 23, 2020. The award is not in public domain, save for an excerpt.