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Centre for Commercial Law Studies

International Investment Law and Arbitration

A man and woman shaking hands next to a pair of gold scales

Build your expertise in arbitration and foreign investment with some of the most distinguished experts in the field.

Registrations will close on Wednesday, 18th September, at 5:00 PM (London time, close of business).

The School of International Arbitration at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, is pleased to offer its third Executive Course on International Investment Law and Arbitration designed for governmental lawyers and officials.

Key information

When: 23 September - 29 November 2024

Fees: Government lawyers and officials £850

Others £2,100

Course description and aims

This 10-week executive education course offers a comprehensive study of the law and practice of international investment arbitration. The course is primarily (but not exclusively) aimed at governmental officials, who want to build their expertise in dealing with arbitrations involving foreign investors (see participants below). The course offers an integrated programme of state-of-the-art research and practice-based knowledge, legal awareness, and practically applicable skills.

At the end of the course, participants will have a good knowledge and understanding of:

  • The legal, economic, political, and historical context of investment treaty arbitration.
  • Jurisdictional issues and requirements arising from an investment claim under investment treaties.
  • Relevant substantive standards of protection, and how they apply to investment claims.
  • Different procedural and strategic considerations at play at various stages of investment arbitration, including key defences available to States.
  • The various approaches to the quantification of damages.
The Executive Course on International Investment Law and Arbitration was a brilliant way to continue to grow expertise in international investment arbitration without being physically in London. The class had participants from several countries and an array of lecturers who, as arbitration practitioners, gave very insightful perspectives on the topics. The tutorials were the highlight for me, and the reading materials have continued to be a great resource.
— Latifat Folashade Yusuff, Lawyer, company Secretary and Legal Adviser to the National Engineering & Technical Company, Nigeria
The guest lecturers brought intellectual rigor and deep expertise to the curriculum, and the leadership team was superb. I particularly enjoyed the tutorials, where we went deeper into the materials and shared ideas with classmates from all over the world. I highly recommend this course to government lawyers and policymakers active in the field of investor-state arbitration.
— Raoul Renard, Assistant Editor for Technology, Kluwer Arbitration Blog and Deputy Director for Legal Reform, ICC

Delivery Format

Online lectures and tutorials organised by Queen Mary University of London.

The course is spread over 10 consecutive weeks. One topic is taught each week, whereby the content is delivered through four means:

  • Bespoke lecture notes prepared by Queen Mary academics summarizing the key concepts of investment law and arbitration
  • Live lecture (webinar) with leading experts from private practice and government once a week
  • Live interactive Q&A (webinar) with Queen Mary academics
  • Curated readings (journal articles and book chapters from leading textbooks and scholarly works)

Participants

The course is designed primarily for Governmental officials wishing to build their capacity to handle arbitrations involving foreign investors (i.e., government lawyers, representatives from governmental institutions and local authorities, judges, and treaty negotiators). However, it is also open to academics, in-house lawyers, and professionals working in international and non-governmental organizations.

Upon successful completion, participants will be awarded a Certificate of Participation.

Course Directors

Dr Rémy Gerbay

Remy Gerbay

Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, Partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Rémy Gerbay holds a permanent academic appointment at Queen Mary University of London, where he is the Co-Director of an LLM programme in arbitration. Rémy is also a partner in Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Arbitration group in Washington D.C., and has extensive experience representing clients in international arbitrations across various regions (including North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union). Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard, Rémy practiced with leading litigation law firms in the US and UK, where he represented clients in international arbitration proceedings. A former Deputy Registrar of the LCIA and Registrar of DIFC-LCIA, Rémy has been appointed as arbitrator in over 20 international cases. Rémy is a Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law’s Dispute Resolution Interest Group, and a member of the editorial boards of the ICC Bulletin and the Journal of International Arbitration. He is a member of the International Court of AFSA, a leading African arbitration institution.

Dr Mary Mitsi

Profile image of Mary Mitsi in black and white

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Commercial Law and International Arbitration

Mary Mitsi teaches on Queen Mary University of London's LLM programme on the modules ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’, ‘Conflict of Laws’, and ‘Multinational Enterprises’. She has experience with arbitral practice in civil and common law systems and has worked on international arbitration cases (LCIA, ICC, HKIAC, ICSID). She is admitted to practice as an Attorney (Thessaloniki Bar Association) and she has also served in the past as Special Legal Advisor at the Greek Ministry for Development advising on issues relating to competition law and Entrepreneurship. Mary is the Director for Executive Education at Queen Mary's Centre for Commercial Law Studies, contributing to the training of industry professionals. She delivers training programmes for practitioners, government officials, and courts. 

Norah Gallagher

Reader and Jean Monnet Chair

Norah Gallagher is the Academic Director of the Energy & Climate Change Law Institute and former ‘Jean Monnet Chair in Natural Resources Law and Policy’ (2018-2019) at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies. She is also the Director of the School of International Arbitration. Norah is a public international lawyer specialised in international dispute resolution for over twenty years. She has advised on a range of issues on international commercial and investment cases (under all of the main institutional rules; ICC, LCIA, AAA ICDR, Stockholm and ICSID). She regularly sits as arbitrator with a particular focus on natural resource disputes. Norah worked at Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith and was Director of the Investment Treaty Forum at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law from December 2007 before moving to Singapore in 2010. Previously, she was a Research Fellow of the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law, Cambridge for several years working on international claims from deep off shore projects to investment disputes under NAFTA, bilateral investment treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty.

 

Course Assistant Director

Dr. Thomas Lehmann

Thomas Lehmann wearing a suit and red tie

Associate Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Thomas Lehmann is a French lawyer, scholar and teaching associate in international investment and commercial arbitration. He completed his PhD at Queen Mary University of London, under the supervision of Dr. Remy Gerbay and Prof. Stavros Brekoulakis. He has worked for leading arbitrators and law firms advising in high-profile commercial and investment arbitration cases, under a wide range of applicable laws and institutions (ICSID, ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL). Dr. Lehmann received his Master of Laws and LL.M. from Paris-1 Sorbonne and City University of Hong Kong (summa cum laude), a Master of International and European Law from Toulouse-1 University.

Course Authors

Norah Gallagher

Senior Lecturer and Jean Monnet Chair, Queen Mary University of London and Global Associate, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore

Viraj Bhide

Viraj Bhide profile image

Viraj Bhide is a dual-qualified Indian and French attorney, and an honorary lecturer at Queen Mary's Online LLM in International Dispute Resolution.

 

 

 

External Faculty

This Executive Course features some of the most distinguished scholars and experts on International Investment Law and Arbitration.

Below is the list of our external speakers for the 2024 edition

Professor Patrick Dumberry

Full Professor at the University of Ottawa

Professor Patrick Dumberry practiced in international arbitration for several years with law firms in Geneva (Lenz & Staehelin, Lalive), Montreal (Norton Rose Fulbright) as well as with Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Trade Law Bureau). He is the author of more than 90 publications in the fields of international investment law and international law. He has also published 10 books with Cambridge UP, Oxford UP, Elgar Publ., Brill, Martinus Nijhoff and Wolters Kluwer.

Csaba Ruznak

Founder and Managing Member at Sovereign Arbitration Advisors

Csaba Ruznak is a founding member of Sovereign Arbitration Advisors. Previously, he worked as an international arbitration lawyer at Arnold & Porter, a preeminent law firm in the United States. He focuses his practice on international arbitration and transnational litigation. He has experience with investment and commercial arbitration cases, and has acted as counsel for States and private parties in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia. In May 2020, Hungary appointed him to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators (as a conciliator).

Dorieke Overduin

Senior Counsel at Sovereign Arbitration Advisors

Dorieke Overduin is Senior Counsel at Sovereign Arbitration Advisors.  She specializes in international arbitration and national court litigation.  She has experience with ICSID and UNCITRAL proceedings; has appeared before the European Court of Justice; and has participated in national court proceedings across diverse jurisdictions.  She is qualified to practice law in the Netherlands.

Malik Havalic

Partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed

Malik Havalic has worked on complex commercial disputes, with a focus on international commercial and investment arbitration. He has been engaged in AAA/ICDR, ICSID, ICC, JAMS, and PCJ arbitrations, and represented both sovereigns and investors in treaty arbitration. He has experience with the oil and gas, nuclear energy, aerospace and defense, life science, pharmaceuticals, financial services and technology, and news media industries, among others.

Manish Aggarwal

Partner at Three Crowns

Manish Aggarwal is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Indian advocate. He has extensive experience representing and conducting advocacy for corporations and States in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations in a broad range of sectors (including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and technology) under all major arbitration rules.

Simon Batifort

Partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

Mr Batifort has extensive experience representing sovereign states, state- owned entities and private companies in arbitrations conducted under various rules, including those of ICSID, UNCITRAL, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Ermelinda Beqiraj

Partner at PwC United Kingdom

Ermelinda Beqiraj advises clients and their legal advisors in disputes arising from breaches of contract, transactions (including breach of warranty claims) and investment treaties, in a range of sectors including energy, mining, telecoms, financial services, construction, transport, healthcare and consumer products.

James Boykin

Partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed

James Boykin’s practice focuses on international arbitration and includes state-to-state and investor-state arbitration as well as commercial disputes. He has represented investors in treaty arbitrations under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, and SCC Rules. He has also represented clients in commercial arbitrations under the ICDR and ICC Rules.

Ian Clemmence

Partner at PwC United Kingdom

Ian Clemmence is a Partner in PwC's London based Forensic Services practice where he specialises in the quantum aspects of arbitrations and litigation disputes. Ian has worked on over 100 expert engagements and been appointed as expert across numerous UK Court and Arbitral matters.

Benjamin Garel

Legal Counsel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Benjamin Garel is Legal Counsel on one of the Case Management Teams at ICSID. Prior to joining ICSID, he worked as an attorney with the law firms of Shearman & Sterling in Paris, Winston & Strawn in Geneva and Stephenson Harwood in London.

Epaminontas Triantafilou

Partner at Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP

Epaminontas Triantafilou's broad experience in international arbitration includes roles as arbitrator, counsel to private corporations and sovereign governments, as well as legal counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, secretary to several international arbitral tribunals, and legal assistant to a leading arbitrator.

Syllabus

  • Introductory Seminar
  • Introduction to the History and Legal Framework of Investment Law
  • Jurisdiction (1)
  • Jurisdiction (2)
  • Expropriation
  • Fair and Equitable Treatment & Full Protection and Security
  • Umbrella Clauses
  • National Treatment & Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment
  • Quantification, Assessment & Damages
  • Enforcement and State Immunity

The School of International Arbitration wishes to thank the following organisations for their support with publicising this course.

 

 

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