Report on Procedural Abuses and Unfinished Administrative Proceedings as a Source of International Investment Disputes (in the Context of ISDS Reform by UNCITRAL Working Group III)

The report analyses how procedural abuses and unfinished administrative proceedings in states with transitional economies create regulatory uncertainty that fuels investor–State disputes. Drawing on ARGA’s casework, it identifies a recurring pattern in which prolonged inspections, absence of final administrative acts, judicial formalism, and parallel procedures undermine investors’ ability to obtain effective domestic remedies. The report connects these findings with the UNCITRAL WG III agenda and offers recommendations for ISDS reform—specifically on cost allocation, counterclaims, limitation periods, joint interpretative statements, and mechanisms for preventing abuse of process.