AJI volume 120 issue 1 Cover and Front matter

In Modern Slavery, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador 2024 decision examined whether Furukawa Plantations S.A. exploited the vulnerability of hundreds of Afro-Ecuadorian abacaleros by imposing a system of serfdom that violated the international and constitutional prohibitions of slavery.In addition, the Constitutional Court examined whether the ministries of labor, health, social inclusion, and government breached their duty to prevent slavery in Furukawa's camps and to ensure the protection of the abacaleros.This landmark decision sheds light on situations where responsibility between states and corporations obscures accountability for systemic corporate abuses and state negligence.The decision is also notable for its well-designed reparation measures for the victims and its recognition of the urgent need to prevent future violations. Junefield Gold Investments Limited v. The Republic of Ecuador, PCA Case No. 2023-35 Juan Du 250The arbitral tribunal in Junefield v. Ecuador focused on a long-standing and increasingly prevalent issue in international investment arbitration-namely, the scope of jurisdiction under a restrictive investor-state dispute settlement clause.In its award, the tribunal majority adopted a broad interpretation of Article 9.3 of the China-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty, which appears to limit arbitration to disputes concerning the amount of compensation for expropriation that is not settled after six months of negotiations.The tribunal held that it had jurisdiction over the Claimant's expropriation claims.This broad reading of a seemingly narrow dispute settlement provision underscores the ongoing interpretative divergence relating to restrictive ISDS clauses, particularly in cases involving indirect expropriation.