Abstract

Because of the international nature of investment arbitration, and the fact that arbitrators come from different cultures, tribunals often follow a ‘hybrid’ approach to the exercise of their fact-finding powers. That is, tribunals do not always rely exclusively on the parties’ presentation of the case and sometimes take an active fact-finding role by going beyond the parties’ submissions when deciding the cases in front of them. Through specific examples, this chapter explores the impact that the tribunals’ search for the ‘material truth’ has had on the resulting awards. In particular, this chapter highlights the importance of the tribunals’ exercise of their fact-finding powers in the field of investment arbitration where there may be policies and issues of public interest beyond the narrower interests of the disputing parties.