
Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre
The Energy Community Secretariat's Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre was established as a response to signals that the settlement alternatives currently available for energy disputes no longer respond to the needs of national authorities and stakeholders, in particular small and medium enterprises and consumers.
Pursuant to Procedural Act 2018/05-EnC, the Centre focuses on three pillars:
- negotiations and mediation of investor-state disputes,
- facilitation for the swift closure of dispute settlement cases under the Energy Community Treaty, and
- negotiation support to national authorities in their negotiations with private parties.
The Centre is attached to the Legal Unit of the Secretariat and is chaired by Mr Dirk Buschle, the Head of the Legal Unit and Deputy Director of the Secretariat. The Secretariat, which has already facilitated negotiations in several high-profile investor-state disputes, will be supported by a group of distinguished individuals with experience in the areas covered by the Centre.
The services provided by the Secretariat's Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre are free of charge.
Centre and its activities
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Written negotiations request
Written negotiations request
Any interested party, be it a government, public authority, market participant, civil society representative or investor, is invited to submit a request to have negotiations of a dispute facilitated by the Centre.
The request shall be made in writing and shall contain:
- the name and address of the disputing parties,
- a summary of the dispute (including any claims for damages),
- a presentation of any related pending proceedings, and
- any documents deemed necessary for the purposes of the negotiations.
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Draft memorandum of understanding
Draft memorandum of understanding
Upon registration of the request, a draft memorandum of understanding together with a draft procedural timetable will be sent to all disputing parties. The draft memorandum of understanding shall contain information as to the place of the negotiations, confidentiality, effect of pending disputes and the name and role of the facilitator. The disputing parties will be free to agree upon amendments of the draft memorandum of understanding.
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Mediation negotiations
Mediation negotiations
Parties to the dispute appoint a facilitator or mediator, either from the staff of the Energy Community Secretariat or the panel of mediators. All information exchanged during the negotiations remains strictly confidential.
Negotiations typically take place at the premises of the Energy Community Secretariat, which offers the use of its conference room and services and facilities in the centre of Vienna, free of charge.
Ideally, the negotiations will be completed over three months.
Dispute cases registry
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The Centre runs a dispute registry on the cases submitted for negotiations. In line with the agreed confidentiality clauses, the dispute registry provides easily accessible basic information on each dispute, such as:
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28.10.2020: The third Dispute Resolution Forum
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The third Dispute Resolution Forum is scheduled to take place on 28 October 2020 (tbc), back to back to the 7th Vienna Law Forum. The format: physical versus virtual is still to be confirmed. |
11.06.2020: Webinar training - Energy dispute resolution: Concepts and experience
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Dirk Buschle and Smaranda Miron ask when facing an energy dispute, what is the safest way towards favourable settlement: litigation, arbitration, mediation? |
19.09.2019: The second Energy Community Dispute Resolution Forum
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The second Energy Community Dispute Resolution Forum convened in September 2019 in Vienna, under the motto: “All is burning… The impact of climate change on dispute resolution.” |
17.04.2019: Coffee, Cake & Dispute Resolution Lecture
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This special lecture with the title: "Steering the ship - navigating through parallel arbitration, negotiation, mediation and court proceedings" by Ms Yas Banifatemi took place at the Secretariat in April 2019. |
27.09.2018: The first Dispute Resolution Forum
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The keynote speech by Mr Nikos Lavranos carried the title "The impact of the Achmea decision". Held in September 2018, the first Dispute Resolution Forum also provided in an update on resolution of energy regulation disputes and examined the role of regulators. |
6 October 2020
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Serbian gas transmission operator signs interconnection agreements with adjacent operators of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary |
7 August 2020
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Facilitation of negotiations over gas distribution losses in Moldova successfully concluded |
17 July 2020
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Renewable energy investments in Ukraine at a critical junction |
6 May 2020
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ANRE and Moldovagaz ask the Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre to facilitate discussions on costs associated with technical losses in gas distribution. |
8 April 2020
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Dispute about Restructuring Support Mechanism for Renewable Energy Projects in Ukraine: Statement by the Mediator. |
6 March 2020
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Debriefing of embassies and international organisations on the Ukrainian renewables dispute |
28 January 2020
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Negotiations under the Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre address recent challenges in the Ukrainian renewables sector. |
6 December 2019
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Negotiations about state guarantee for the Tuzla 7 project end without agreement |
23 September 2019
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Energy Community Dispute Resolution Forum and Vienna Energy Law Forum shed light on impacts of the energy transition on the future of energy law and dispute resolution. |
18 April 2019
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Energy Community’s Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre hosts its first “Coffee, Cake and Dispute Resolution” event. |
1 March 2019
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Mediation conducted by Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution Centre results in launch of daily gas balancing in Ukraine. |
1 October 2018
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Energy Community Dispute Resolution Forum and Vienna Energy Law Forum: 250 European lawyers discuss the future of energy arbitration and energy law. |
26 September 2018
Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution Centre brings results in gas transmission code dispute. |
1 June 2018
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Energy Community Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution Centre and the Vienna International Arbitral Centre announce close cooperation in dispute resolution. |
Subscribe
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We invite you to subscribe for the Secretariat's news and download messages. Select category: legal and stay up to date with the Centre and its activities. |
Panel of Mediators
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Whenever a mediation service is needed, the registrar notifies the panel of mediators and asks for their interest to serve as a mediator.
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Dispute Resolution Review
Energy Community Dispute Resolution Review
On 3 June 2020, the Centre launched its new, biannual, online newsletter. Over the years, the Centre has developed quite a remarkable track record, paired with a growing insight into dispute resolution in the energy sectors. To share these insights and to encourage discussions among experts, the Centre reaches out to the public in organizing events and in its newsletter.
Should you wish to subscribe, please, write to us.
01/2020 Energy Community Dispute Resolution Review
Aechmea fasciata, the name comes from the Greek aichme (a spear).The first issue features our analysis of investor-state dispute settlement post Achmea and the Singapore Convention on Mediation.
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Publications
Publications
December 2017
Compatibility of intra-EU BITs - Buschle / Miron article in the Croatian Arbitration Yearbook
The compatibility of intra-EU BITs with European law has been debated at large by academia, international arbitral tribunals and national courts. Dirk Buschle and Smaranda Miron analyse the opinion of the Advocate General in the case Slovak Republic v Achmea BV, in which it was found that found that an intra-EU BIT does not constitute discrimination on the basis of nationality and does not undermine the allocation of powers provided for under the EU Treaties and the autonomy of the EU legal system.Their article was published in December 2017 in the Croatian Arbitration Yearbook.
February 2017
World Abritration Café discusses Investor-State Disputes and ADR
On 25 February 2017, the Chair of the Dispute Resolution Centre of the Energy Community, Dr Dirk Buschle, attended the World Abritration Café, an event organised under the auspices of the Vienna Arbitration Days 2017. Dr Buschle moderated discussions on the topic of “Investor-State Disputes and ADR”. The debate was focused on the advantages of mediation over arbitration, especially in relation to energy disputes.A report of the discussions can be found below.
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Reference disputes
Reference disputes and best practices
September 2018
Keynote speech at the Energy Community Dispute Resolution Forum
During the First Dispute Resolution Forum, Nikos Lavranos delivered a keynote speech on the impact of the Achmea decision.
March 2018
Ten years after the launch of the Achmea arbitration, the Court of Justice of the EU finally renders its ruling on the compatibility of bilateral investment treaty arbitration (BIT) and the legal order of the EU
The decision comes as a result of a request for a preliminary ruling from the German Federal Supreme Court (the BGH). The BGH inquired whether Article 344 TFEU precludes application of provisions in BITs which allow investors from European Member States to bring other Member States before arbitration tribunals, if the BIT had been signed before the accession of one of the Member States to the European Union, and arbitration proceedings were instituted only after both countries were part of the European Union; if the answer to the previous question is negative, whether Article 267 TFEU precludes the existence of such arbitration proceedings; and if the answers to both previous questions are negative, whether Article 18(1) TFEU precludes the existence of such arbitration proceedings.
The decision did not follow the opinion of the Advocate General issued on 19 September 2017, the conclusion of which was that EU law did not preclude the application of an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism established under an intra-EU BIT.
The Court of Justice first stated that an arbitral tribunal constituted under the BIT must rule on the basis of the law in force of the contracting state involved in the dispute as well as other (international) agreements between the contracting parties, which includes EU law. Next, the Court of Justice, unlike the Advocate General, finds that such an arbitral tribunal does not constitute a court or tribunal of a Member State within the meaning of Article 267 TFEU and, as a result, an arbitral tribunal cannot make a reference to the Court of Justice of the EU for a preliminary ruling. Lastly, the Court of Justice finds that, by concluding the BIT, the EU Member States parties to it established a mechanism for settling disputes between an investor and a Member State which could prevent those disputes from being solved in a manner that ensures the full effectiveness of EU law, even though they might concern the interpretation or application of that law. The Court of Justice concludes that the arbitration clause in the BIT is incompatible with EU law and that it has an adverse effect on the autonomy of EU law. The Court of Justice does not look into the issue of discrimination on the basis of nationality.
It remains to be seen what steps will the BGH take now and whether or not it will annul the Achmea award.
May 2017
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes: Eiser versus Spain On 4 May 2017, an ICSID tribunal chaired by John R. Crook (with co-arbitrators Stanimir Alexandrov and Campbell Alan Mc Lachlan) issued an award against Spain for rolling back certain incentives encouraging investment in the solar power sector. The tribunal found that the changes introduced to an existent feed-in tariff system in Spain amounted to the creation of a new system, very different from the one in reliance of which the solar power investors made the decision to invest. As such, the legislative changes undertaken by Spain constituted a breach of the fair and equitable treatment standard under the Energy Charter Treaty. The tribunal awarded damages and interest in the amount of EUR 128 million. -
Flagship organizations
Flagship organisations, rules and guidelines
Organisation Description
Vienna International Arbitral Centre, VIACFounded in 1975 as a department of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, VIAC has administered over 1,600 proceedings since its inception and is thereby one of the most experienced arbitration centers in the region. As of 2018, VIAC has taken over also administration of purely domestic disputes which had previously been vested with regional arbitration courts.
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, UNCITRALA legal body with universal membership specializing in commercial law reform worldwide for over 50 years, UNCITRAL's business is the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business. UNCITRAL formulates modern, fair, and harmonized rules on commercial transactionsis. It is best known for its model law on mediation. The International Bar Association, IBA
Established in 1947, IBA was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice. The present membership is comprised of more than 80,000 individual international lawyers from most of the world’s leading law firms and some 190 bar associations and law societies spanning more than 170 countries. IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration sets out a series of general standards of independence and disclosure to govern the selection, appointment, and continuing role of an arbitrator.