Potomac Institute and International Law Institute

THE INTER-UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR TERRORISM STUDIES

The International Law Institute is eager to announce Georgetown University Law Center's Institute of International Economic Law [IIEL] Colloquium:

SUBJECT: Procedural Tools in Aid of Arbitration: Swiss/USA Perspectives.

ISSUES:

     [i]    Attachment of assets [in Switzerland; and as compared with US]
     [ii]   Judicial assistance in aid of an arbitration proceeding abroad [“Swiss Section 1782”]
     [iii]  Enforcement of arbitral awards [in Switzerland; and as compared with laws of the US] 
  

DATE:           Monday 19 March 
TIME:           12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
LOCATION:   600 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington
                     Eric E. Hotung International Law Building
                     Hotung Faculty Dining Room - - 2ND Floor 

FORUM MODERATOR:

ANNE-MARIE WHITESELL

Anne Marie Whitesell is Professor, LL.M. Program and Faculty Director, Program on International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C.  Prior to joining Georgetown, she practiced with the law firm Dechert LLP in Washington and Paris. Ms. Whitesell was Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 2001 to 2007. She also previously taught at the Université de Paris I, the Institut de Droit Comparé and Georgetown. Ms. Whitesell has practised with law firms in both the United States and in France, and has acted as arbitrator and counsel in numerous international arbitration cases. She serves as a member of various boards and committees related to dispute resolution and is the Director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Center of the International Law Institute. Ms. Whitesell received her A.B. from Smith College, her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and her Doctorate in Law from the Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne. She is admitted to the New York State Bar, the District of Columbia   Bar and the US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

DR. FRANZ X. STIRNIMANN FUENTES     [Froriep Law] 

PROFESSOR DAVID STEWART      [Georgetown University Law Center] 

Professor Stewart joined the faculty following his retirement from the U. S. Department of State, where he served as Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.  Previously he had been Assistant Legal Adviser for Diplomatic Law and Litigation, for African Affairs, for Human Rights and Refugees, for Law Enforcement and Intelligence, and for International Claims and Investment Disputes, as well as Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser. Before joining the government, he was in private practice with Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine in commercial and antitrust litigation. He was Adjunct Professor for over 25 years and received Georgetown's Charles Fahy award for distinguished adjunct faculty teaching in 2003-2004.

Prof. Stewart is President of the American Branch of the International Law Association and a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law as well as the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law. The American Law Institute selected him to serve as one of the Reporters working on the Restatement (Fourth), Foreign Relations Law of the United States. He previously served on the Executive Council of the ABA's Section of International Law and the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law. From 2008-2016 he was a member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, which advises the Organization of American States on juridical matters of an international nature and promotes the progressive development and codification of international law.

Professor Stewart co-directs the Global Law Scholars Program, directs the Center on Transnational Business and the Law, and teaches courses in public and private international law, foreign relations law, international immunities, international criminal law and civil litigation. He co-edited the multi-volume Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law for the years 1990-2003, and authored The Foreign Sovereign Immunization Act: A Guide for Judges (2013) as well as the Nutshell on International Criminal Law (2014). With Professors Luban and O'Sullivan, he co-authored International and Transnational Criminal Law (Aspen 2nd ed., 2014), and is a co-author of the Nutshell on International Human Rights (5th ed.) in 2017. He served to Major, U.S. Army Reserves in military intelligence. 

DMITRY A. PENTSOV    [Froriep Law] 

Dmitry’s specialisms include banking and finance, international arbitration (with a particular focus on Russia and other republics of the former USSR), corporate and commercial (especially international joint ventures and cross-border transactions governed by Swiss law) and international private client law (wealth transfer and structuring, including trusts, acquisition of aircraft and real estate and relocation to Switzerland).

GAELA GEHRING FLORES       [Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP]

Gaela Gehring Flores concentrates her practice on international arbitration and litigation matters. She represents both multinational corporations and sovereign states in International commercial and investment arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR/AAA), and in litigation and appellate proceedings before US federal courts. She advises clients in a broad range of disputes, including energy, natural resources, construction, hospitality, transportation, sovereign debt instruments, government contracts, and intellectual property. Ms. Gehring   Flores also provides legal services to private sector and sovereign clients on enforcement of arbitral awards, effective contractual dispute resolution clauses, and a variety of public international law issues, including foreign sovereign immunity and discovery in international proceedings. Ms. Gehring Flores' practice capitalizes on her broad experience and her native   Spanish skills and bicultural background.

Click HERE to order the book

The International Law Institute is pleased to announce the publication of “Business Guide to Trade and Investment”, Volume 1 – International Trade, edited by Arthur Appleton and Patrick Macrory, and published by the International Chamber of Commerce ICC, in partnership with the International Law Institute. This volume introduces business interests to the international and regional rules applicable to trade in goods and services as well as to aspects of trade such as intellectual property rights and dispute settlement. The second volume, to be published in early 2018, will cover investment agreements.

According to John Donilovich, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce For over forty years, “In this volume business executives will find a wealth of insights on the rules and institutions that govern international trade today and what they mean for their global growth strategies.” Patrick Macrory, who is the Director of the International Trade Law Center at the ILI, has worked in international trade and cross-border transactions globally for over forty years. Considered an expert in the field of trade, Mr. Macrory has litigated, advised and trained officials and practitioners globally on international trade matters, with specific focus on trade remedies and customs law.

Interview with Mr. Patrick Macrory about: “Business Guide to Trade and Investment”

Why did you write this book?

There are many books on trade and investment written for lawyers by lawyers. But there are very few books, if any, written for business and government officials who are not lawyers.

How do you see the book being used?

The purpose of the book to help businesses understand how they can take advantage of trade and investment agreements, by removing barriers to their exports, by proving relief against imports that are harming them, or by protecting their foreign investments. For example the book includes a case study of how the US and European liquor industries used trade agreements to get rid of highly discriminatory tax treatment, favoring local producers, in a number of countries, including Japan, Colombia, India, and Chile.

Do you see this book being used by trade associations or by individual companies themselves?

Both. The book is published by the International Chamber of Commerce and will be made available to country chambers of commerce and their members internationally. It is designed for commercial sectors of country members of the WTO or those operating within bi-lateral and regional trade agreements and whose members wish to open markets, better understand competition, and work more intelligently to protect their investments.

Do you see this as primarily a US-centric publication or is this taking into consideration international standards?

The book is about international law standards (although these standards are incorporated into the domestic law of each WTO Member). We expect that the book will be used worldwide.

What are some of the specific topics that you address in this book?

All the areas are important, but different groups will be more interested in some parts than others. For example, a business that is exporting a lot will be most interested in learning how it can use the agreements to break down trade barriers. Conversely, a producer that is facing competition from imports will be more interested in learning about trade remedies. A business with overseas investments will focus on the type of protection that it may receive under international investment agreements.

The first volume deals with trade. It discusses the World Trade Organization, how it came into being, what it does, the rules that it applies that are so fundamental to trade, and the quite effective way in which it resolves disputes between its members. This volume also discusses the remarkable growth of regional trade agreements, which now account for more than half of world trade. The second volume, which will be published early in 2018, deals with international investment agreements, of which there are now well over 2,000. They are designed to protect foreign investors against unfair treatment by the host governments, such as expropriating their property without compensation.

Specific issues in Volume 1 include:

Fundamental rules governing international trade
Customs Issues
Non-Tariff Barriers
Rules related to subsidies
Trade remedies
Trade in agriculture
Government procurement
Trade in Services and Intellectual Property Rights
Dispute Settlement in the WTO and regional trade agreements
Case studies showing how particular industries have leveraged rules to open foreign markets or to protect themselves from injurious imports

What are some of the areas within your book that you think would be meaningful in terms of cross border transactions?

One important topic is the so-called “trade remedy”, which allows an industry that is being harmed by imports to obtain relief in the form of higher duties (or occasionally quotas). This is a very controversial subject, as witnessed by the fact that nearly half of the over 500 disputes handled by the WTO have involved trade remedies. The book describes the practical steps business needs to take to obtain this relief.

Trade is a fairly technical topic. How is the book drafted so that it is understandable?

We asked all the contributors to write in simple, straightforward English (and to avoid using Latin where possible).

Does the reader need to have a background in trade or international business to profit from reading from this book?

I would hope not, though someone with that background might get more out of the book. We try to present the subject step by step, with practical tips (in bold typeface) along the way. It is written in a way that is meant to be very accessible.

Does the book provide resources for the reader for further information or international or government websites that might help direct them towards more specific information?

Yes, the chapters are heavily end-noted with references to books, articles, etc. And we provide links to useful WTO and government websites.

What do you wish the readers to take away from your publication?

An understanding of how they can utilize trade and investment agreements to further their business interests in a fair and controllable way.

Can you tell me about the publisher of the book?

The International Chamber of Commerce is based in Paris and the International Law Institute, Washington, DC.

Who is the International Chamber of Commerce and why is it important?

With a global network of over 6 million members in more than 100 countries, the ICC promotes international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation.

Patrick Macrory, Joaquin Avendaño, Economic Affairs,
Embassy of Mexico in Washington, DC and
ILI Program Manager, Carlos Davila
discussing trade issues

Mr. Macrory has served as Co-Chairman of the International Trade Committee of the American Bar Association; served as Visiting Associate Professor of Political Science at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan; taught trade law courses at the Washington College of Law at American University and the University of London; He also teaches regularly at the International Law Institute’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at its affiliates in Uganda, Egypt, Turkey, and Nigeria. He has also taught in, Beijing, Korea, China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, India, Nepal, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, the Bahamas, Jordan, Barbados,, ,the Dominican Republic. Botswana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Myanmar. Mr. Macrory designed and delivers courses for the Foreign Service Institute (the teaching arm of the U.S. State Department) to instruct foreign service officers and other U.S. government officials on monitoring compliance with the WTO and other trade agreements. In 2003 he advised the People’s Bank of China on WTO aspects of banking law reform. In 2004 he led a team that provided WTO training to 250 senior Chinese judges. Mr. Macrory has worked on two projects with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the first in connection with the extension of the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement to trade in services, and the second in connection with the negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU. He assisted the Government of Botswana in its preparation for the negotiation of a services chapter to the free trade provisions of the Southern African Development Community. Mr. Macrory was Editor-in-Chief of a major work on the World Trade Organization, titled ‘The World Trade Organization -Legal, Economic, and Political Analysis”. The book contains more than eighty chapters and 3000 pages, providing comprehensive legal, political, and economic analyses of the WTO, written by many of the leading academics, practitioners, and government officials in the world. Drawing on his expertise, Mr. Macrory co-directed the development of this publication to teach best practices in international trade.

ACLA attends 2-day conference at
World Bank on multilateral
development bank projects, PPP, 
procurement, sanctions systems and
integrity compliance

Mr. William Black - Greater Washington China Investment Center,
Mr. Samuel Mok - Condor International Advisors, LLC, and
Mr. Larry Lee U.S.-China Policy Foundation discuss experiences
of Chinese firms invested in the U.S.