Case Note: Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador, Inc. v. Republic of Ecuador

Ita leads this morning with a new English translation of the decision in Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador, Inc. (“EMELEC”) v. Republic of Ecuador. This is a pretty perplexing decision. The core issue was jurisdiction and the tribunal was asked to decide whether the representative of EMELEC before the tribunal was actually the ultimate shareholder of EMELEC  and entitled to bring the proceedings or a third party with no interest in EMELEC.

Musings on Disquiet

There are two kinds of quiet. One is the quiet of peace and contentment, the quiet that forms in a still moment and is a deep contentment that pervades every nook of the soul. The kind that forms when you sit in a warm window on a cold rainy day, and stare out at all eternity.

That is not my quiet. I have an unsettling gnawing quiet. A quiet that has no reason and gives no answers.

What the Problem is Not

I’ve been pondering the Jessup problem today from a purely abstract perspective. I’ve been thinking about what the problem isn’t: the issues that it decided to ignore instead of explore.

The problem, although focused on international investment law in part, has not raised the three big questions of international investment law that are at the forefront today.

The Doctors v The HK Hospital Authority

We were discussing the decision by the Court of Final Appeal in Leung Ka Lau and Ors v The Hospital Authority (FACV 22 & 23 of 2008) in which the CFA considered  claims by doctors employed by the Hospital Authority including their claim to to a day of rest in every seven as provided in Section 17 of the Employment Ordinance.

The doctors claimed that when they were on non-resident call, i.e. days when they were required to be available on short notice to respond to any emergencies (30 minutes) but didn’t actually have to be in the hospital, constituted a working day and not a day of rest. Their employer, who realised that this would cost them a large amount of money, fervently argued the other way.

Incoherent Readings

I’ve become very incoherent in the way that I read. In the last few days, I have approximately 5 books on the go flitting from one book to another as I drift from context to context in the search for their message. I don’t get to the end of one book before I start a new one.