Achmea’s legacy: The necessity to create the multilateral investment court
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32978/sjp.2025.004Keywords:
Achmea judgment, bilateral investment treaties, Multilateral Investment Court, Energy Charter Treaty, Investment Court SystemAbstract
This paper examines the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Achmea judgment and its implications for investment dispute resolution within the EU. The 2018 ruling declared that bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between EU member states infringe on EU legal autonomy, as they grant jurisdiction to arbitral tribunals outside the EU framework. This has led the EU to seek alternatives, such as establishing a Multilateral Investment Court. This proposed court would resolve conflicts with consistent, impartial judgments, unlike ad hoc tribunals, thus safeguarding EU legal principles. Additionally, the essay analyzes how
Achmea affects the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and discusses the challenges of jurisdiction in intra-EU disputes under the ECT. In conclusion, the paper advocates for the EU’s transition towards a permanent Investment Court System with binding precedents and jurisdiction to interpret EU law consistently, ensuring legal coherence across member states.
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