Matthew Ngai, ‘Sirens in the fog: the issues of Jus Standi in trust-related investment arbitration’

ABSTRACT
The collision between trusts and investment arbitration has ignited a critical jus standi battle: should beneficiaries or trustees have standing under BITs? This article dissects landmark rulings favouring beneficiaries, revealing their dissonance with English trust law. I argue that trustees, as legal owners of the trust property, should be the sole claimants capable of preserving doctrinal coherence and shielding trusts from host-state violations. Simultaneously, this article highlights how multinational compositions of trustees or beneficiaries generate jurisdictional complexities regardless of standing allocation.

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Matthew Ngai, Sirens in the fog: the issues of Jus Standi in trust-related investment arbitration, Trusts & Trustees. Published: 13 November 2025.

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