Frequently Asked Question about the Energy Charter Process

The International Energy Charter is based on the recognition that all countries stand to benefit from a balanced framework for cooperation in the energy sector. Countries with natural resources get a means to attract investment, to protect their interests downstream, and to ensure reliable transportation for their energy exports to consumers.

Energy-importing countries get protection for their outward energy investments, and mechanisms to promote security of supply. All countries benefit from measures to encourage the efficiency of energy production and use and to minimise their environmental impacts.

The International  Energy Charter has two distinctive features. Firstly, the Treaty is the only body of international rules that is tailored to the specific needs of the energy sector. Secondly, the International Energy Charter covers a broad and diverse range of countries across Eurasia, including energy producers, consumers and transit countries.

The Charter dates back to a political initiative launched in Europe in the early 1990s, at a time when the end of the Cold War offered an unprecedented opportunity to overcome the previous economic divisions on the European continent. A political declaration on international energy cooperation, the European Energy Charter was adopted in 1991, and was followed by the legally binding Energy Charter Treaty, which was signed in 1994 and which entered into force in 1998.

The Treaty’s common 'rules of the game' for the energy sector are designed to encourage investment and trade, to ensure reliable transit, and to promote efficient energy use.

A large amount of investment is required, all along the supply chain, in order to meet growing demand for energy. The International Energy Charter is based on the idea that international flows of investments, capital and technologies for the energy sector are mutually beneficial, and a primary aim of the Treaty is to promote the necessary climate of predictability that can attract private sector involvement.

The Treaty does not create investment opportunities for companies by forcing open access to resources or defining a certain market structure for International Energy Charter member countries. These are sovereign decisions for member governments.

However, once an energy investment is made, the Treaty is designed to provide a stable interface between the foreign investor and the host government. This stability is particularly important in the global energy sector, where projects are highly strategic and capital-intensive, and where risks have to be assessed over the long-term.

It is a major task to reduce these risks, as much as possible, by creating a stable and transparent investment climate. The Energy Charter Treaty assists by offering binding protection for foreign energy investors against key non-commercial risks, such as discriminatory treatment, direct or indirect expropriation, or breach of individual investment contracts.

A second priority for the Treaty is to promote reliable international transit flows. This is a particularly important issue for Eurasian energy security, since a high proportion of oil and gas in Eurasia is delivered through long-distance pipelines that cross multiple national borders and jurisdictions.

Under the Treaty, member countries are under an obligation to facilitate energy transit in line with the principle of freedom of transit and not to interrupt or reduce established energy transit flows.

Thirdly, the Treaty requires that all member states act to minimise the harmful environmental impact of energy-related activities. The Treaty does not have binding targets in this area, but member countries use the International Energy Charter as a forum to exchange information on programmes and policies that have been successful in improving energy efficiency.

Currently there are fifty-six Signatories and Contracting Parties to the Treaty. 

With its current membership, the International Energy Charter has a natural focus on the evolving Eurasian energy market, including the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and North Africa. Although the Treaty was conceived as a European initiative with a focus on 'East-West' cooperation, the scope of the International Energy Charter is now considerably broader. (See Members and Observers page for more information).

The first step for a country wishing to join the International Charter is to sign the 1991 political declaration (the 'European Energy Charter'). On the basis of this commitment to the principles of the International Energy Charter, the country then becomes an observer to the International Energy Charter, with access to all meetings and documents.

The next stage, if a country wishes to take it, is accession to the Treaty itself. This is a more lengthy process, since a country must first assess the compatibility of its domestic legislation with the provisions of the Treaty. Once the relevant reports have been approved by the Energy Charter Conference - the International Energy Charter's governing body in which all member countries are represented - the applicant country is invited to accede to the Treaty.

The Treaty is open for accession by any country that wishes to participate, that is ready to take on the obligations in the Treaty, and whose application is accepted by the Energy Charter Conference. 

While the International Energy Charter is based on the idea that international flows of investments and technologies in the energy sector are mutually beneficial, national sovereignty over energy resources is a core principle of the Treaty (Article 18 of the Energy Charter Treaty).

Each member country is free to decide whether and how its national energy resources are developed, and also the extent to which its energy sector is open to foreign investors.

The Energy Charter Treaty includes an obligation on member countries to facilitate energy transit across their territory, in line with the principle of freedom of transit, and an obligation to secure established transit flows. At the same time, an understanding included in the Treaty makes it clear that the Treaty provisions "do not oblige any Contracting Party to introduce mandatory third party access".

An objective of the Treaty is to promote transparency and efficiency in the operation of energy markets, but it is for governments to define the structure of their national energy sector. There is no obligation to privatise state-owned energy companies, or to break up vertically integrated energy companies.

The International Energy Charter shares core principles with the World Trade Organisation, in particular the principles of transparency and non-discrimination. The rules of the Treaty are fully compatible with those of the international trading system, and in practice the Energy Charter Treaty has been a valuable stepping stone for some member states on their way towards accession to the WTO.

However, the International Energy Charter goes further than the WTO framework in addressing specific challenges for the energy sector. There is no counterpart in the WTO system to the Energy Charter Treaty's provisions on the protection of investment. The Charter also covers in more detail the issue of energy transit, and includes a distinctive mechanism for the resolution of energy transit disputes. In relation to the energy sector, memberships in the WTO and in the International Energy Charter are complementary; these organisations are not substitutes for one another.

The idea of an International Energy Charter to promote international energy cooperation was launched by the (then) European Community in June 1991. However, the International Energy Charter is a separate international organisation, which aims to find balanced solutions to key energy challenges among a diverse range of member countries across Europe and Asia, including producers, consumers and transit states, participating in the Charter on an equal basis. 

The International Energy Charter is an independent international intergovernmental organisation, based on the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty, bringing states in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Energy Charter Treaty focuses on cross-border cooperation in the energy sector: promotion of investments, stable energy flows and increased energy efficiency.

The Energy Community is an international organisation dealing with energy policy. The key aim of the organisation is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. The organisation was established by an international treaty in 2005. The Treaty establishing the Energy Community brings together the European Union, on one hand, and countries from the South East Europe and Black Sea region on the other.

The Treaty contains a variety of mechanisms to settle disputes, each of these being designed to address a particular aspect of the Treaty.

If a member country feels that another state is not complying with its obligations under the Treaty - and if no resolution is possible through bilateral diplomatic channels - then the matter can be taken to binding international arbitration. This mechanism is applicable to almost all disputes arising under the Treaty, with the exception of the articles on competition and on the environment.

The Treaty also grants foreign investors the right to take Contracting Parties to international arbitration, in the event of an alleged breach of the Treaty's investment provisions (for more information see - All Investment Dispute Settlement Cases -).

The Treaty also includes a unique conciliation procedure to deal specifically with disputes over transit. This can be invoked by member states, and is faster and less formal than taking a case to arbitration. Under this procedure, an independent conciliator is appointed in order to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. If no agreement is reached quickly, then the conciliator ultimately has the power to fix interim transit tariffs for up to twelve months while negotiations between the parties continue. The aim of this procedure is to reduce the risk of interruptions to transit flows while an agreement is being found.

The Secretary General of the International Energy Charter Secretariat has a role in appointing the conciliator in this case, but - apart from this specific instance - the Secretariat itself is not involved in the dispute settlement mechanisms. The Secretariat has no mandate to act as arbiter on disputes arising under the Treaty, nor can it recommend or take any sanctions against member countries.

Russia signed the Energy Charter Treaty in 1994 and accepted provisional application of the Treaty pending ratification. This meant that Russia had agreed to apply the provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty to the extent that they are consistent with Russia's constitution, laws and regulations.

On 20 August 2009 the Russian Federation officially informed the Depository that it did not intend to become a Contracting Party to the Energy Charter Treaty and the Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects. In accordance with Article 45(3(a)) of the Energy Charter Treaty, such notification results in Russia's termination of its provisional application of the ECT and the PEEREA upon expiration of 60 calendar days from the date on which the notification is received by the Depository. Therefore, the last day of Russia's provisional application of the Energy Charter Treaty and the PEEREA was 18 October 2009. In 2018, Russia confirmed that they are not to be considered as Signatories of the Energy Charter Treaty. 

Since parties to investment arbitration under Article 26 ECT are not obliged to notify the Secretariat of the existence or substance of their dispute, some awards (and even the existence of some proceedings) remain confidential. The Secretariat compiles information (which cannot be considered exhaustive) from delegates and public sources (including specialized reporting services such as Global Arbitration Review (GAR), Investment Arbitration Reporter (IAReporter) and ItaLaw). A full list with information is available here. The Secretariat assumes no responsibility for eventual errors or omissions in these data and welcomes any additional information or clarification on specific cases (at legalaffairs@encharter.org or using the online contact form). Some case reports prepared by TDM/IACL can be found here. 

In 2014 the Energy Charter Conference mandated the Secretariat to the assist with good offices, mediation and conciliation, as well as to provide neutral, independent legal advice and assistance in dispute resolution and participate in pre-trial proceedings between Contracting Parties (before they revert to the mechanisms contained in Art. 27 ECT or Annex D). As a result, the Secretariat established a Conflict Resolution Centre.