Published in furtherafrica.com
It was published in the Angolan Official Gazette on September 22, the new version of the Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement between Angola and Portugal, which was signed firstly on 2008.
The main modifications are the following:
- The concept of investment which is relevant for the application of the treaty has changed, being considered investment all the assets invested by one party’s citizens in other party’s territory, according with that party’s legislation, not including investments in public debt;
- Regarding disputes between a party and investors that are citizens of the other party, those disputes shall be settled by an arbitral court, which cannot pronounce regarding the legality of a law, regulation, proceeding, decision or administrative action;
- The arbitral decisions will be recognized and enforced in national territory according with internal and international rules, namely with the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards;
- Parties agreed that the Rules regarding Transparency of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law are applicable to most part of the arbitral procedures between a party and citizens of the other party;
- Arbitrators shall have specialized knowledge or experience regarding International Public Law and namely on International Investment Law;
- Were established proceeding rules for the refusal of an arbitrator due to conflict of interests, and also conduct and deontological rules which bind the arbitrators, namely information duties on aspects related with their independence and impartiality;
- Arbitrators shall not be involved in investment disputes related with disputes which they have analyzed, nor act as lawyer, witness or expert in any investment dispute of the same parties, for the period of three years after the end of the relevant arbitration;
- Parties also agreed that they could not revoke their legislation regarding health, labor, and environment to foster investment, and agreed to encourage investors to adopt measures and policies connected with sustainable development and social responsibility;
- Each party is able to not apply the advantages of the Agreement to investors who are controlled by third State investors, or which have not complied with internal or international rules regarding money laundering and terrorism financing;
- The modification of legislation which affects an investor or his expectations does not constitute a breach to this Agreement.
This revision permits to adapt the Agreement to European Union investment policies which bind Portugal, and at the same time, updates the treaty with the last international developments regarding investment, what will reinforce the economic and investment relations between both countries and their citizens.
Article by Marco Correia Gadanha
Marco Correia Gadanha is a partner of the Portuguese law office MC&A. He is specialized in legal advice to international transactions. Marco has extensive experience of legal practice in Portugal and in the Portuguese-speaking African countries. Since 2008, he has practiced mainly in the areas of labor and litigation, assisting national and international clients in these and other matters, namely corporate law, especially in Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. He graduated at the University of Coimbra in 2005 and he holds post-graduations in Labor and Angolan Law.