Arbitration under bilateral investment protection agreements within the EU

The EU Court of Justice issued its judgment on 6 March 2018 in Case C-284/16 (Slovak Republic v. Achmea BV). The Court concluded that arbitration clauses in investment protection agreements between EU Member States are incompatible with EU law.

In the future, if the opinion is generally enforced, this can prevent any arbitration in the area of investment protection between the EU Member States, and possibly also between EU states and non-members. However, the Court decided only about the arbitration clauses, not about the complete investment protection agreements.