VJ Home: Archive: Abstract Article (2001) 5 VJ 1, 22-40 Should amici curiae participate in investment treaty arbitrations? Andrew Newcombe* & Axelle Lemaire** Andrew Newcombe and Axelle Lemaire provide some practical considerations regarding the involvement of amici curiae in investor-state arbitrations. The article firstly reviews the recent decision of the arbitral tribunal in Methanex Corporation v. United Sates of America under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The article then explores the nature of amici curiae, and the issue of whether or not amici curiae should participate in investor-state arbitration. Public concerns mounting with investor-state arbitration are also discussed, such as the inability of this process to take into public interest and the lack of the system's transparency. * Lawyer, International Arbitration and Public International Law Groups, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Paris ** Ph.D. student in international arbitration at the Pantheon-Assas University, Paris