International
European Union
No. 7 | July 2026
We are pleased to present the seventh issue of our publication Cuatrecasas Arbitration Highlights, in which we highlight the main developments in international arbitration and their practical implications for our clients.
In the “our jurisdictions” section, our lawyers in Colombia, Spain and Mexico explain some of the most relevant judicial decisions and developments for our clients. In this issue, we highlight a decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia on the recognition of an ICC partial award, three decisions of the High Courts of Justice of Madrid and Asturias in Spain — concerning the exequatur of awards rendered under the Austria-Libya BIT, the recognition of two ICC awards in favour of the ConocoPhillips group against PDVSA, and the non-enforceability of the mandatory ADR prerequisite (MASC) in court proceedings related to arbitration —, and two judicial decisions from Mexico confirming the country's commitment to arbitration and alternative dispute resolution methods following the Judicial Reform.
In the “relevant cases to our practice” section, we look beyond our own jurisdictions and highlight the foreign and international judicial decisions with the greatest impact on our international arbitration practice. In this issue, we discuss the denial of certiorari by the United States Supreme Court in the Flores v. NY Football Giants case, regarding the requirements for a dispute resolution mechanism to constitute genuine arbitration under the FAA; the judgment of the United Kingdom Supreme Court confirming that Article 54 of the ICSID Convention constitutes a waiver of state immunity from jurisdiction; and two judgments of the French Cour de Cassation reaching opposite conclusions on the protection of dual-national investors under investment treaties.
In the “in the spotlight” section, we present an explanatory note on the signing of the Modernised Global Agreement and the Interim Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mexico, and discuss the signing of a Host State Agreement between Spain and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which will facilitate the conduct of PCA-administered proceedings in Spain and foresees the opening of a permanent office in Madrid.
Finally, in the new “our publications” section, we compile the main publications of the Cuatrecasas team during the first half of 2026, covering, among other topics, the enforcement of intra-EU awards under the Energy Charter Treaty, the European Union's position against intra-EU investment arbitration, a judgment of the Constitutional Court of Spain on judicial review of arbitral awards, Colombia's announcement of its withdrawal from the investment arbitration system, the new Arbitration Law of Paraguay, the new ICC Arbitration Rules, and explanatory notes on arbitration in the renewable energy and defence sectors.
We hope you enjoy reading it.