La sentenza Achmea, un anno dopo: l’impatto sull’ordinamento europeo e il futuro degli intra-EU BITs

On 6 March 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered its much-awaited judgment in the case Slovak Republic v. Achmea, where it affirmed the incompatibility of Bilateral Investment Treaties’ (BITs) arbitration clauses with Articles 267 and 344 of the TFEU. The judgment bears particular importance not only for the case at stake, but also for the future of BITs between Member States, shedding light on the delicate issue of the settlement of disputes, through arbitration. Furthermore, the case raises important questions of general international law, concerning the termination of such BITs, as well as uncertainties on the Investment Treaties that the EU itself may sign and is signing with third States, in the framework of its commercial policy competence.