01
State contract & concession disputes
Concession, licence, PPP, infrastructure, offtake, stabilisation, termination and payment disputes involving State or State-linked counterparties.
UNIONE™ - SECTOR BENCH
Investment, State & Public Contracts
Investment and State-facing disputes combine commercial contracts, public-law powers, treaty protections, sovereign considerations, quantum and enforcement. UNIONE connects pre-investment architecture, dispute assessment, arbitration and recovery while avoiding old claims of universal treaty coverage or guaranteed sovereign enforcement.
Sector BenchState-facing disputes require legal, commercial and enforcement thinking from the beginning.
SECTOR REALITY
State-facing disputes require legal, commercial and enforcement thinking from the beginning.
Sector disputes are shaped by the contracts, records, operational events, technical questions and regulatory context behind them. UNIONE connects those sector realities to prevention, assessment, arbitration and enforcement.
02
Investment protection claims
Expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, discrimination, protection and security, denial of justice and related treaty questions where applicable.
03
Jurisdiction & admissibility
Consent, nationality, investment definition, corporate structure, fork-in-the-road, waiver and other threshold issues.
04
Regulatory change
Policy shifts, permitting, tariffs, taxation, transition measures, sanctions, local-content rules and other State measures affecting investments.
05
Quantum & valuation
Enterprise value, lost profits, sunk costs, financing, causation, mitigation and valuation-date questions.
06
Sovereign enforcement
Immunity, State assets, commercial-use distinctions, recognition, execution and multi-jurisdiction recovery strategy.
FOUR COMMERCIAL MOMENTS
Start with the decision the organisation faces.
The sector page should connect each problem to the smallest credible intervention first, while keeping arbitration available when binding determination is required.
01
Before You Sign™
Stress-test dispute-facing contract architecture while it can still be changed.
Contract route →02
Before You Arbitrate™
Separate merits, evidence, quantum and commercial exposure before full proceedings.
Decision route →03
Arbitration
Build procedure around the sector record, experts, urgency and cross-border context.
Arbitration route →04
Before You Enforce™
Connect the award or right to assets, jurisdiction, security and recovery.
Recovery route →PREVENTION & CONTRACT ARCHITECTURE
The dispute is often created before the notice is sent.
A sector-specific prevention review should focus on the mechanisms most likely to create ambiguity, evidential weakness, escalation or recovery problems.
01
Consent and dispute architecture
Identify contract, treaty and statutory routes without assuming that any one route is available.
02
Corporate and investment structure
Understand ownership, nationality, project vehicle and investment structure before a dispute tests them.
03
State entity and immunity clauses
Clarify counterparty identity, authority, waiver, service, governing law, forum and asset considerations.
04
Stabilisation and regulatory allocation
Address change in law, tariff, tax, permitting, local-content and transition risk where contractually possible.
05
Evidence and State record
Preserve approvals, permits, representations, negotiations, regulatory chronology, investment evidence and loss records.
06
Recovery geography
Consider likely recognition and execution jurisdictions, asset types and immunity issues early rather than after an award.
SECTOR PRACTICE FRAMEWORKS
Credibility should be visible in the documents and operating systems practitioners actually use.
UNIONE should describe the contract families, records and technical contexts that matter without claiming exclusive expertise, fixed panel numbers or guaranteed outcomes.
- Investment treaties and public international lawApplicable protections, consent, jurisdiction, State responsibility and treaty-specific conditions.
- State contracts and concessionsConcessions, licences, PPPs, public procurement, infrastructure and long-term project agreements.
- Corporate and investment documentsShareholding, financing, guarantees, project vehicles, restructurings and investment evidence.
- Regulatory recordLicences, permits, correspondence, policy measures, administrative decisions and government representations.
- Quantum and valuation materialBusiness plans, financial models, project economics, financing, market evidence and causation records.
WHO THIS SERVES
The full sector dispute ecosystem.
Different users arrive with different commercial questions. Each should be able to see where the institution may become relevant without being pushed into arbitration-first language.
Foreign investors & sponsors
Investment structure, State-facing contracts, regulatory risk, dispute assessment and recovery.
Governments & State entities
Contract, concession, regulatory, project and investment-facing disputes with appropriate public-law and sovereign safeguards.
Sovereign wealth & institutional investors
Large cross-border investments, State counterparties, project risk and enforcement exposure.
Infrastructure & energy investors
Concession, PPP, tariff, licence, transition and project-related State measures.
Funders & insurers
Merits, quantum, duration, jurisdiction, sovereign risk and recovery assessment.
Counsel, experts & neutrals
Threshold issues, merits, valuation, public international law and sovereign enforcement questions.
SECTOR BENCH
Professional standing should mean genuine sector capability - not automatic work.
Sector Bench standing may support discovery and professional participation. It does not create entitlement to arbitral, neutral, expert or other appointments.
Q
Qualification
Relevant legal, economics, valuation, public-policy, finance or other professional qualification.
E
Experience
Meaningful investment, State contract, sovereign, regulatory or public international law experience.
J
Jurisdictional depth
Ability to identify consent, jurisdiction, admissibility and State-entity questions without overstating certainty.
Qm
Quantum
Relevant valuation, damages, finance or economic expertise where the role requires it.
I
Independence
Ability to satisfy the applicable independence, conflict and disclosure requirements.
R
Recovery awareness
Understanding that a favourable award and successful recovery are distinct questions, especially where sovereign assets are involved.
GLOBAL BY DESIGN
Coordinate centrally. Use local counsel where domestic law requires it.
Digital submission, secure document exchange, video meetings, sector-specialist review and jurisdiction intelligence can operate across borders. Reserved domestic-law work remains with appropriately qualified local professionals.
Cross-border sector workThe institutional layer can travel without pretending local law has disappeared.
- Remote institutional deliveryCentral administration, secure exchange, virtual meetings and sector-specialist review can operate across borders.
- Professional boundaryDomestic-law advice, court representation and locally reserved activities remain with appropriately qualified professionals.
- Appointment firewallSector Bench standing, prior solution work or professional participation does not predetermine any later case appointment.
- Enforcement awarenessRecognition and recovery should be considered early where the dispute or asset profile makes them commercially material.
DECISION ROUTER
What is happening right now?
The correct route depends on consent, the legal basis of the claim, the commercial objective, the State relationship and the realistic recovery path.
A
Contract or project architecture
The problem can still be designed out, allocated or better documented.
Start before signing →B
Live dispute or claim
The organisation needs an independent view before choosing process.
Assess the dispute →D
Award or recovery issue
Recognition, assets, security or enforcement geography is now central.
Plan recovery →