Part III Presumptions and Inferences, 7 Iura Novit Curia and Proof of Law

Subject(s):

Judicial notice — Conduct of proceedings — Annulment — Lex specialis

This chapter examines one of the most underestimated areas of proof in investor-state arbitration—the proof of law. The first evidentiary principle governing proof of law is the maxim of iura novit curia, or the tribunal or court knows the law. The principle is fraught with difficulty when applied to investor-state arbitration. The practice of investor-state arbitration on its face disproves the assumption that tribunals know the law in a non-trivial sense. This difficulty does not mean, however, that iura novit curia is wholly inapplicable to investor-state arbitration. Rather, as the chapter shows, the principle must be carefully circumscribed in order to avoid potential annullable error.