Raiffeisen Bank International AG V Croatia, ICSID Case No arb/17/34

Abstract

In September 2020, an ICSID tribunal rendered its decision on the Respondent’s Jurisdictional Objections in Raiffeisen v Croatia, two years after the ICSID Chairman of the Administrative Council rejected Croatia’s application to disqualify Dr. Stanimir Alexandrov as a member of the tribunal. The decision on the Respondent’s Jurisdictional Objections concerns the interpretation of the Austria- Croatia bit and its compatibility with the EU acquis. This case- note addresses both the decision on the Respondent’s Jurisdictional Objections and the Chairman of the Administrative Council’s decision on the proposed disqualification of Dr. Alexandrov. In so doing, it focuses on three key issues: the selection and conduct of the arbitrator that gave rise to disqualification, and the role played by ICSID in the process; the interrelation between investment treaties, EU Law, and EU Member States; and the implementation of the vclt for termination of treaties covering similar subject matter.