2022 INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT TREATIES AND INVESTOR-STATE ARBITRATION

DATES: NOV 28 - DEC 9, 2022    
         
VENUE: IN-PERSON AND ONLINE    apply now button  
       
TUITION: $4200    
         

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

The use of investment treaties – including bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) - has exploded in recent years. Almost 3000 such treaties are in effect. Foreign investors have used BITs to initiate hundreds of international arbitration disputes against host governments with amounts ranging from a few million to several billion dollars in connection with foreign investments. This seminar teaches participants about international investment treaties and also how to prevent and resolve disputes arising from them. Additionally, it includes advanced instruction in how and when international arbitration proceedings are initiated against nations that violate international treaties.

Format

The seminars are currently offered both in-person and online simultaneously, at the choice of the participant. This choice must be indicated at the time of registration. A small number of courses are scheduled to be delivered exclusively in person or online, and are indicated as such in the 2022 schedule. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. Online Only seminars will be delivered through five (for 1-week course) or ten (for 2-weeks course) live online sessions via videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will be scheduled to start within a time window of 7:00 am – 8:30 am Washington D.C. time. Hybrid In-Person/Online seminars will start at a time most convenient to both in-person and online participants, and will generally follow the In-Person seminar format. We expect the classes to be highly interactive and can include presentations, case studies and exercises. 

Course Outline

 

Basic Standards for the Treatment of Foreign Investment

  • Minimum standards under customary international law
  • Background on the history of free trade and other agreements relating to investment
  • Substance of common investor protection clauses, including national treatment, MFN, fair and equitable treatment, transfer of funds and expropriation and nationalization
  • Intersection of ISDS with Taxation environment and public international matters

 

Investor-State Dispute Settlement

  • Arbitration under various treaties, including ICSID, NAFTA, CAFTA, ECT and UNCITRAL
  • Selection of forum and the arbitrators
  • Alternative forms of dispute resolution
  • Role of the arbitral tribunal and conduct of proceedings
  • Managing the arbitration
  • Sources and choice of applicable law
  • Corruption & Fraudulent practices and ISDS
  • State defenses to investor claims
  • Damages and compensation in investment arbitration
  • Recognition, enforcement and challenges to an arbitral award
  • Reform of the ISDS, UNCITRAL Working Group III, ICSID Rule Amendment, & European Developments

Course Advisors

Ian A. Laird is co-chair of Crowell & Moring LLP’s International Dispute Resolution Group and an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center. He represents a range of clients in international arbitration proceedings involving disputes between corporations and foreign sovereign governments. He is the co-Founder of InvestmentClaims.com, the on-line investment arbitration award service published by Oxford University Press. He is licensed to practice in Washington DC as a Special Legal Consultant and in Ontario, Canada as a Barrister & Solicitor.

Dr. Borzu Sabahi is a Partner in the International Arbitration group of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP in Washington, DC. He represents governments in international arbitration matters in a variety of sectors. He was recognized by the International Who’s Who of Commercial Arbitration Lawyers 2016 as a leading practitioner. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown and Columbia Law Schools, an Editor of Oxford’s InvestmentClaims.com, and a Co-Chair of the Annual Juris Conference in Washington, DC. His publications have been cited by arbitral tribunals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is licensed to practice in New York and the District of Columbia.