Overview
This course teaches lawyers, and other professionals, such as international investors (whether companies or individuals), as well as government officials about bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investment chapters of free trade agreements, and how to work with them to resolve international disputes, including the valuation of damages and enforcement of arbitral awards. The use of BITs has exploded in recent years, with almost 3,000 such treaties in effect. This course provides the participants with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental principles applied in Investor-State arbitration.
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 2023 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
- Background on the history of free trade and other agreements relating to foreign investment
- Minimum standards under customary international law
- Substance of common investor protection clauses in BITs, including national treatment, MFN, fair and equitable treatment, and expropriation and compensation
Investor-State Dispute Settlement
- Arbitration under various treaties and rules, including ICSID, NAFTA, CAFTA, ECT and UNCITRAL
- Parallel proceedings and related issues
- Selection of forum and the arbitrators
- Sources and choice of applicable law
- Key jurisdictional thresholds: consent, investment (jurisdiction ratione materiae), investor (jurisdiction ratione personae)
- State defenses to investor claims
Course Advisors
Ian A. Laird is co-chair of the 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 International 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 D.C. 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.
