Au-delà de la prise en compte de la mauvaise conduite des investisseurs étrangers, le projet de recherche a également permis de mettre en lumière le rôle des arbitres dans la réforme du règlement des différends investisseur-État. En s’appuyant sur une observation des participants à Vienne et à New York, Guillaume François Larouche aborde les travaux du Groupe de travail III de la Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international. Il explique comment une approche socio-juridique permet une meilleure compréhension des développements en cours et il commente divers extraits d’entrevues semi-dirigées qui ont été menées auprès d’arbitres.

Some tribunals have relied on contributory fault to reduce damages owed to foreign investors, even after finding a breach of international obligations by the respondent state. Andrea K. Bjorklund and I go back to an article that we co-authored in 2020 on this concept. Andrea addresses the role of Article 39 of the ILC Articles as a basis for contributory fault in investment arbitration and the main concerns regarding its application. We also question the approach adopted by the tribunal in Copper Mesa v Ecuador, consider potential treaty innovations and address a more implicit approach chosen by some arbitrators to consider investor misconduct when calculating damages.

In 2024, Yueming Yan published an article entitled “Corruption and the (Un)Clean Hands Doctrine in Investor-State Arbitration: Definitional and Reciprocity Challenge”. Building on the arguments that she developed in this article, we discuss the role of the clean hands doctrine in addressing corruption and other forms of investor misconduct in investment arbitration. We consider the contribution of the award in Littop v Ukraine, and we contrast Yueming’s findings with responses provided by some arbitrators regarding the existence of “clean hands” as a general principle of international law.