Does an Annulled Award Constitute Legal Authority in Investment Arbitration?

Abstract

Arbitration lawyers have been discussing enforcement of annulled awards for some 25 years. Recently, another discussion regarding annulled awards is gaining traction: can an investment arbitrator rely on an annulled award? More specifically, does it constitute legal authority? The author submits that, in investment arbitration, an arbitral award, annulled by a national court in the UNCITRAL Rules context or by an ad hoc committee in the ICSID context, does not constitute legal authority, nor can it give guidance on the content of the applicable law in another manner.