TDM Call for Papers on “Project Finance in International Arbitration”

The next name was kindly shared with us by the editors of TDM.

We’re happy to announce a forthcoming Transnational Dispute Administration (TDM, ISSN 1875-4120, www.transnational-dispute-management.com) particular challenge on “Challenge Finance in Worldwide Arbitration” This Particular Challenge can be edited by Seabron Adamson and Tiago Duarte-Silva, each of Charles River Associates.

This name for papers can be discovered on the TDM web site:https://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/information.asp?key=2118

Background

Challenge finance is utilized in lots of the world’s largest power, mining, infrastructure, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure initiatives. Most of the most complicated business and investor-State arbitrations contain challenge financed companies. Nevertheless, the monetary logic of special-purpose automobile (SPV) buildings, lender controls, cashflow waterfalls, and challenge financeability stays under-examined in arbitration writing. This particular challenge invitations contributions on how challenge finance shapes jurisdiction, legal responsibility, causation, valuation, and cures throughout each business and treaty disputes.

The sectors by which challenge finance is predominantly used — power, mining, infrastructure, and telecommunications — are additionally the sectors that generate the best quantity of worldwide arbitration disputes. Based on 2024 statistics, power and building issues collectively account for a considerable majority of ICC business arbitration instances, whereas power and mining-related disputes symbolize almost half of all ICSID instances. Challenge finance buildings are subsequently routinely on the coronary heart of among the most complicated and high-value arbitrations on this planet.

Regardless of this convergence, the precise monetary mechanics of challenge finance stay under-explored within the worldwide arbitration literature. The structural options of project-financed transactions (the SPV structure, cashflow waterfalls, lender step-in rights, covenant frameworks, and closely negotiated threat allocations) create a definite authorized and financial context that shapes how disputes come up, how legal responsibility is assessed, and the way damages are quantified. Even modest disruptions to revenues or operations can set off cascading contractual penalties which will wipe out fairness worth completely, even when the underlying asset continues to perform. Quantifying the complete extent of such losses more and more requires a classy understanding of challenge finance mechanics by arbitration tribunals and practitioners.

Disputes in project-financed transactions ceaselessly come up from governmental actions which will impair challenge economics or bankability (together with allow delays, regulatory modifications, and expropriation), counterparty failures (whether or not by offtakers, EPC or O&M contractors, or co-investors), or unexpected operational disruptions. Within the investor-State context, the interaction between treaty protections and the rights of lenders raises basic questions on who has standing to assert, what losses are recoverable, and the way reparations ought to be structured. In business arbitration, multi-party, multi-contract disputes are frequent, involving intricate questions of threat allocation beneath building contracts, energy buy agreements (PPAs), concession agreements, and financing documentation.

This particular challenge seeks to carry collectively main practitioners, lecturers, and consultants to look at the intersection of challenge finance and worldwide arbitration in depth. Contributions from practitioners with expertise within the discipline (whether or not as counsel, arbitrators, damages consultants, or different specialists) are notably welcome.

Subjects

We invite submissions addressing a number of of the next matters, or every other related points on the intersection of challenge finance and worldwide arbitration:

Challenge Finance Construction and Arbitration

The SPV construction and its implications for jurisdiction, standing, and enforcement in arbitration
Lender rights in arbitration: step-in rights, direct agreements, and the function of lenders as events or third events to disputes
Multi-party arbitration in challenge finance: aligning disputes throughout the contractual matrix (EPC, O&M, offtake, financing)
Confidentiality and disclosure of financing paperwork in arbitral proceedings
Arbitration clauses in challenge finance agreements: drafting concerns, probably problematic clauses, and interplay between dispute decision tiers
The influence of political threat insurance coverage
Corruption and cronyism in challenge improvement

Investor-State Disputes Involving Challenge Finance

Bankability and the truthful and equitable therapy commonplace: when do regulatory modifications cross the road?
Stabilization clauses in concession agreements and their interplay with treaty protections
Standing, nationality and attribution points in investor-State claims involving SPVs, HoldCos, lending and sponsor syndicates and lender-controlled buildings
Power majeure, necessity, and hardship in project-financed infrastructure and power disputes
Authorities actions affecting challenge bankability: allow delays, regulatory creep, and forex restrictions
The function of export credit score companies (ECAs), political threat insurers and multilateral improvement banks (MDBs) in shaping dispute outcomes
Managing the chance of conflicting selections throughout arbitral and judicial disputes involving separate claimants
Political threat in challenge improvement and operation

Damages and Monetary Evaluation

Quantifying losses in project-financed disputes: the function of the cashflow waterfall and monetary mannequin
The “binary” nature of challenge finance fairness losses: implications for damages methodology
DCF and comparables-based valuation in early-stage, construction-phase, and operational challenge finance disputes
Financeability as a damages challenge: was the challenge realistically bankable, and the way ought to that be assessed?
Mitigation obligations and lender enforcement instruments (waivers, treatment intervals, restructuring) within the damages evaluation
Lack of likelihood and causation in complicated, multi-causal challenge finance disputes
The influence of legal responsibility limits in challenge contracts

Sector-Particular Points

Renewable power challenge finance disputes: PPAs, curtailment, and the power transition
Mining and pure assets: concession agreements, offtake disputes, and royalty financing in arbitration
Infrastructure initiatives: PPP buildings, availability-based funds, and authorities termination rights
Oil and Fuel challenge finance: manufacturing sharing agreements, joint working agreements, and contractor disputes
Digital infrastructure and knowledge centres: rising challenge finance disputes in a quickly rising sector
Disputes involving Islamic finance buildings utilized in challenge financing

Procedural and Sensible Issues

Interim measures and the safety of challenge belongings and revenues pending arbitral proceedings
Professional proof in challenge finance disputes: monetary modelling, engineering, and sector experience
Enforcement of challenge finance arbitral awards in opposition to States and SPVs
Third-party funding in challenge finance arbitrations
Insolvency, restructuring, and arbitration: managing distressed challenge finance disputes
Dispute avoidance and administration clauses in challenge finance documentation

Submissions

We invite all these with an curiosity within the topic to contribute articles or notes on one of many above matters or every other related challenge. Proposals for papers (150–200 phrases) ought to be submitted to the editors by June thirtieth publication is anticipated remaining quarter 2026/first quarter 2027.

Please deal with all questions and proposals to the editors at sadamson@crai.com and tduarte@crai.com and CC information@transnational-dispute-management.com when submitting your supplies.

Articles accepted for publication earlier than this deadline will even undergo TDM’s on-line advance publication course of, permitting your work to succeed in its target market as quickly because the paper completes peer assessment and the modifying course of.

Visitor Editors

Submission Tips

The minimal phrase depend for articles is 5,000 phrases (excluding footnotes, endnotes, appendices, tables, abstract and many others.). Articles should embrace a brief abstract of the important thing factors addressed and any conclusions drawn (150–200 phrases).

The format of the articles ought to conform to TDM’s submission tips, obtainable at: www.transnational-dispute-management.com/contribute.asp (extra data obtainable upon request).

For citations, please comply with OSCOLA (4th Version): www.regulation.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/publications/oscola

This name for papers can be discovered on the TDM web site:https://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/information.asp?key=2118