Common use of Settlement of investment Clause in Contracts

Settlement of investment. disputes between a contracting party and an investor of the other contracting party 1. This Article applies to disputes between a Contracting Party and an investor of the other Contracting Party concerning an alleged breach of an obligation of the former Contracting Party under this Agreement which causes loss or damage to the investor or the investment. Any of such disputes shall be settled, as far as possible, amicably and shall be notified by submitting a notice of the dispute in writing (Notice of Dispute). 2. In order to submit a claim for settlement under this Article, domestic administrative remedies shall be exhausted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Such procedure shall normally not exceed three (3) months, and in no case exceed six (6) Months, from the date of its initiation by the investor. 3. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as to prevent the parties of a dispute from referring their dispute, by mutual agreement, to ad hoc or institutional mediation or conciliation before or during the arbitral proceeding. 4. If the dispute has not been settled within nine (9) months from the date of the written notification mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, a notice of request for arbitration ("request for arbitration' 1) may be submitted, at the discretion of the investor: a. to any competent court or administrative tribunal of the Contracting Party to the dispute; b. in accordance with any dispute settlement procedure agreed upon prior to the dispute; or c. by arbitration in accordance with this Article under: I. the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States (the "ICSID Convention'), if the ICSID Convention is available;