Fork in the Road Clause in International Trade Arbitration Practice by focusing on ICSID Verdicts

Abstract

In many bilateral investment treaties, the investor is allowed to submit its claim to domestic courts, arbitration or any other agreed tribunals. Offering different options to the investor for the method of dispute resolution could lead to some problems, such as conflicting decisions and ambiguous interpretations. Because of these problems, some states have placed some restrictions upon investors and prohibited them from submitting their claims in different courts or tribunals at the same time. Fork in the road is a specific clause requiring the investor to make a final decision and choose a specific court or tribunal, among all competent courts and tribunals, to submit its claim. Choosing any tribunal prevents other tribunals from having jurisdiction. This article aims to examine international arbitration practice regarding fork in the road clause by focusing on ICSID awards.

Keywords

• international trade arbitration
• fork in the road
• bilateral investment treaty
• icsid
• competent tribunals