Digital revolution and its impact on investment dispute settlement

1 Belen Olmos Giupponi

Department of Law - School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences - Kingston University London, UK

Abstract

The disruption of new technologies has brought new challenges and opportunities for the settlement of investment disputes. Digitalization is changing the provision of services leading to new business models, at the same time, creating new digital markets and a specific digital business model. Cryptocurrencies have added another layer of complexity, taking monetary and financial issues outside established governmental channels and traditional financial markets. At a similar dynamic pace, new technologies are reshaping conventional financial dispute settlement methods (namely, litigation, arbitration and mediation) with the introduction of specific means to take evidence (digital documents and online-hearings, amongst others) and to conduct the dispute settlement process. As a consequence, businesses, parties, counsels and tribunals are faced with several challenges. These concern, for instance: the introduction of specific dispute settlement clauses into investment treaties and contracts; the protection of cybersecurity in the conduction of proceedings; guaranteeing transparency and efficiency of proceedings and ensuring the authenticity and legal value of digital evidence. Regulatory bodies try to keep up with this evolution by adopting standards. The quest for equality is also present in this discussion as the digital gap between the parties to a dispute may represent an imbalance of power during the settlement process resulting in an unfair outcome. Although there is still a significant legal lacuna in this area, emerging cases are contributing new food-for thought as they unveil possible regulatory options. The paper’s main aim is to discuss these various challenges and propose some recommendations for the future in light of recent cases. This chapter highlights the increasing importance of digitisation in the financial sector and the challenges of digitising investment dispute resolution.

Keywords

Investment dispute settlement, artificial intelligence, digital revolutions, FinTech