IX Consent to Arbitral Jurisdiction

Subject(s):

Investor — Conduct of proceedings — Consent to jurisdiction

This chapter describes the concept of consent to arbitral jurisdiction. The consent of the parties is the basis of the jurisdiction of all international arbitration tribunals. The requirement of consent to arbitral jurisdiction in the context of investor-state arbitration is also a corollary of the principle that ‘there is no power superior to the states which can force a judge upon them’. States and private entities or individuals may express their consent to binding dispute resolution in a variety of ways. Today, states typically provide their consent to submit future investment disputes to arbitration through bilateral investment treaties (BITs), multilateral treaties, or the state’s own domestic legislation. It is generally accepted that once a state has given its consent to arbitrate investment disputes and this consent has been perfected, it cannot be revoked unilaterally. When an investor accepts the state’s open offer to arbitrate, a valid and binding agreement is created between the parties.