Jurisdiction ratione materiae’

To determine its jurisdiction, an arbitral tribunal must have recourse to the applicable rules on its jurisdiction ratione materiae, ratione personae and ratione temporis. The ratione materiae requirement refers to the features and characteristics of the subject-matter of a dispute falling under the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction. Investment arbitration tribunals have a specialised subject matter jurisdiction: investment disputes. As a result, the arbitral tribunal will have to look at the existence of an investment pursuant to the applicable definition of ‘investment’ as well as the existence of a ‘dispute’ in connection with the investment.