Fifteenth Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Debate & Discussion

A four part series on May 4th, 13th, 18th, 25th of 2021

JURIS Conference’s Fifteenth Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration conference will be held as a live webinar series.  Beginning on May 4, 2021, JURIS Conferences will be holding a weekly series of sessions with leading arbitration practitioners and scholars hosted on Zoom.

The 15th Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration conference tackles four questions in the field of international investment law and arbitration.
 

To register for all sessions (I-IV) of this conference, see below.
If you've missed a live session, purchasing registration includes access to the recordings.

Co-Chairs

Kabir Duggal, of Arnold & Porter (New York), focuses his practice on international investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration and public international law matters, serving both as counsel and arbitrator. Dr. Duggal’s experience includes complex disputes under numerous bilateral/multilateral investment treaties and contracts in South Asia, Latin America, Central Asia, Middle East, Europe, and Africa. His experience flows from his triple training in international law, common law, and civil law traditions. The total value of the disputes he has been involved in exceeds 80 billion dollars. He has facilitated the mediation and negotiation of complex disputes. He also acts as a Consultant for the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) on the creation of a novel “Investment Support Program” (which was shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review for the category of “Best Developments” for 2018). He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Investment Support Program. Dr. Duggal is a Lecturer-in-Law at the Columbia Law School, teaching “International Investment Law and Arbitration.” He is also a Course Director and Faculty Member for the Columbia Law School-Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Comprehensive Course on International Arbitration.

Rekha Rangachari is the Executive Director of the New York International Arbitration Center (“NYIAC”).  Founded in 2013, NYIAC is a non-profit organization that promotes and enhances the conduct of international arbitration in New York, offers educational programming, and operates world-class hearing facilities for rent in Midtown Manhattan. Rekha is actively engaged with the arbitration community at the city, state, national, and global levels. At the New York state and city levels, Rekha serves as Member of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Dispute Resolution Section’s Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the International Disputes Resolution Committee, and Member of the NYSBA Planning Committee for the Judith Kaye Moot Court Competition; Member of the NYSBA International Section’s Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the International Contracts and Commercial Law Committee; and Member of the New York City Bar’s Women in the Legal Profession Standing Committee and Affiliate Member of the Arbitration Committee.

Todd Weiler launched JURIS’s Investment Treaty Arbitration conference and book series on international investment law and arbitration in 2006. He is a leading expert on international investment law and arbitration, having participated in many dozens of disputes as counsel, expert, or arbitrator since being called to the bar of Ontario in 1999. He holds a M.A. in public policy and a LL.B. from Western University (Canada), a LL.M. in international trade law from the University of Ottawa, and a LL.M. and a S.J.D. in international investment law from the University of Michigan.  He is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. in international and transnational history at Western University.  His name has appeared on the Who’s Who Legal list of leading international arbitration lawyers since 2007 and on the Global Arbitration Review’s list of the world’s leading specialist international arbitration firms, the GAR 100, since 2011.

Faculty

Session I

Mohamed Abdel Wahab is the Founding Partner & Head of International Arbitration, Construction, and Energy Groups at Zulficar & Partners in Cairo. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab has served in more than 230 arbitration cases, including complex, high value institutional and ad hoc arbitral proceedings involving parties from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Canada, and the United States. As arbitration counsel, Prof. Dr. Abdel Wahab prosecuted cases under all major institutional rules and secured landmark wins for clients in leading commercial and investment arbitration cases under the laws of Egypt, England & Wales, France, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Syria, UAE as well as the general principles of law. His expertise in cross border multi-jurisdictional and highly complex transactions and disputes is broad and unique within the MENA region and Africa.

John Fellas is an independent arbitrator with over three decades of experience in international dispute resolution. Until December 2020, John was a partner and co-chair of the International Arbitration group at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in New York, where he practiced for over 30 years. He has acted as counsel and has served as co-arbitrator, chair or sole arbitrator in arbitrations all over the world, under all the major arbitration rules, and across a range of sectors.John is recognized as a leading international arbitrator by all the major legal directories including Chambers USA where he is ranked as “one of the best—his reputation is phenomenal and deserved.”

Stephen Jagusch QC is Global Chair of Quinn Emanuel's International Arbitration Practice. He specializes in international commercial and investment treaty arbitration, having acted as adviser and advocate in dozens of ad hoc and institutional international arbitrations, conducted in many countries around the world, and subject to a wide variety of governing substantive and procedural laws.  A great many of Stephen's cases have been for or against sovereign states or substantial multinational organizations, and he has been lead counsel in many of the world's leading investment treaty cases. Stephen is recognized as a leading expert in the field of international arbitration and disputes arising under contracts and bilateral or multilateral investment treaties, and is highly ranked by all international and domestic legal publications in international arbitration and public international law.

Mercy Okiro is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, trained Arbitrator, Accredited Mediator and Construction Adjudicator. She is an Accredited Tutor and Assessor of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London) and the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) As well as an Adjunct Faculty. Mercy holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the University of Nairobi and is currently writing her dissertation for the award of a Master of Laws degree with Queen Mary University of London. She was feted as the Young African Arbitration Practitioner of the Year in 2019.

Namrata Shah is a Principal Associate at Rashmikant and Partners in Mumbai and specializes in commercial litigation and arbitration. She is dual-qualified (India & New York) and holds a Master’s Degree from Columbia Law School. Namrata has previously worked in the chambers of the then Attorney General of Maharashtra and former Additional Solicitor General of India and thereafter at Pepper Hamilton LLP in the United States, gaining experience in complex cross-border dispute resolution. She holds roles in international arbitration organizations and is leading the development of an advocacy training program for young lawyers in Mumbai.  

Hafez Virjee serves as an independent arbitrator. Dually-qualified (England & Wales / Paris), he has over a decade of experience acting as arbitrator and counsel under several of the major rules of arbitration. His clients have spanned the range of listed companies, private equity firms, tech start-ups, industrial concerns, State entities and treaty organisations, in disputes across a wide range of sectors and relationships, including shareholder agreements, joint-ventures, agency, M&A, telecommunications, tech, energy, pharmaceutical, construction and defence.

Session II

Funke Adekoya is a Founding Parnet at AELEX and heads the dispute resolution practice group. AELEX is a full-service law firm with offices in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja in Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana. With 45 years’ experience in commercial dispute resolution, she is frequently appointed to arbitral tribunals, either as sole or party appointed arbitrator conducting proceedings under the rules of the ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL and LMAA. Arbitrations in which she has been involved range from disputes arising from gas sales agreements, oil rig supply contracts to joint ventures in construction and real estate Her specialties are in Commercial arbitration and litigation; corporate insolvency and restructuring.

Elizabeth Chan is an Associate in the London office of Three Crowns LLP. Elizabeth specialises in international commercial and international investment treaty arbitration. She has represented both investors and States across various jurisdictions including London, New York, Hong Kong, and The Hague. She holds roles in several organisations focused on gender diversity, thought leadership in dispute resolution and prevention, and Asia. 

Tina Cicchetti is a leading arbitration practitioner, an independent Neutral with Vancouver Arbitration Chambers (VAC) and a Member Arbitrator at Arbitration Place in Toronto. She has served as sole arbitrator and tribunal chair in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. Tina also has extensive experience as counsel in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations. Since 2017, Tina’s practice has focused on acting as a neutral arbitrator and she has been sole arbitrator or chair in ad hoc proceedings, as well as arbitrations conducted under the auspices of the ICC, the ICDR, the AAA and VanIAC. Tina has resolved numerous types of commercial disputes, including post-merger and acquisition claims, joint venture and shareholder disputes, breach of contract (including issues of fraud and force majeure), and construction contracts.

Sabine Konrad is a Partner in the Frankfurt office of Morgan Lewis. She focuses on international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on investment arbitration and international commercial arbitration. Sabine advises investors and governments in matters of investment protection. She has experience representing clients in a broad range of industries, including energy and infrastructure. She has represented clients in cases across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. In addition, she acts as arbitrator in investment treaty arbitration and international commercial arbitration cases. She has experience as sole arbitrator, tribunal president, and co-arbitrator.

Isabel Kunsman is a Managing Director in the Washington, DC office of Alix Partners. Isabel is an experienced expert witness on financial, valuation, and quantum matters bilingual in English and Spanish. For the past 15 years, Isabel has assisted clients, regulators, and arbitral tribunals in matters related to the valuation of complex financial instruments, concessions, or companies in such sectors as construction, banking, infrastructure, transportation, energy, mining, and oil & gas. She has been regularly retained as a quantum and valuation expert to provide testimony in both English and Spanish in bilateral investment treaty arbitrations before ICSID and UNCITRAL, in international commercial disputes before the ICC, and in domestic regulatory proceedings in Latin America. Isabel has an MBA with honors in international finance from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

Robert Volterra has been recognised for many years in the global legal directories as one of the world’s top public international law practitioners. Robert’s practice focuses on the resolution of complex disputes and evolving issues in the field of public international law.  He is sought by clients globally to defend their interests in bet-the-country and bet-the-company disputes.  He is the go-to public international law practitioner for cases dealing with novel and cutting-edge topics.

Alex A. Witt is an Associate in the London office of Arnold & Porter. Alexander represents sovereign States and multinational corporations in investor-State arbitrations and international commercial arbitrations under the Rules of the ICC, ICSID and UNCITRAL. His experience includes disputes in the energy, government contracts, construction, nuclear engineering, mining and infrastructure sectors in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Session III

Freya Baetens is is Professor of Public International Law at the PluriCourts Centre (Faculty of Law, Oslo University), working on an interdisciplinary research project evaluating the legitimacy of international courts and tribunals at Leiden University. As a Member of the Brussels Bar, she acts as counsel or expert in international and European disputes. She is listed on the Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).

Crina Baltag is a Senior Lecturer in International Arbitration at Stockholm University and qualified attorney-at-law since 2004, with extensive practice in international commercial and investment arbitration, international dispute resolution, private and public international law. Dr. Baltag is co-director of the International Commercial Arbitration Law (ICAL) LL.M. She teaches in the ICAL LL.M., as well as on other courses at Stockholm University related to dispute resolution and international law. She has been involved in international arbitration for more than 15 years as counsel, arbitrator, and head of arbitration and mediation institution (Amcham Brazil Arbitration and Mediation Center).

Cherine Foty is an Associate in the Paris office of Jones Day. Cherine Foty focuses her practice on international commercial and investment arbitration under a range of arbitral rules and applicable laws. She has represented clients on matters before major institutions as well as in ad hoc arbitrations and in litigation disputes. She has particular experience in gas pricing arbitration, franchise disputes, banking and corporate arbitrations, as well as related litigation for the implementation of conservatory measures and the enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards.

Melida Hodgson is head of Jenner & Block's New York International Arbitration Practice. She focuses her practice on investor-state and commercial arbitrations, counselling governments and state-owned entities, as well as corporate entities, with respect to international investment protection provisions, business disputes and World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution and international trade policy issues. Recognized by Latinvex as one of top 100 lawyers whose practice focuses on Latin America, Ms. Hodgson is noted for her key role in successfully defending countries in investment arbitration, including Venezuela in several International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitrations.

Ian Laird is co-chair of Crowell Morning's International Dispute Resolution Group. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and co-director of the International Investment Law Center (International Law Institute or ILI). He represents a range of clients and acts as an arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings, primarily involving disputes between corporations and foreign sovereign governments. For over 20 years, Ian has counseled parties in investment arbitrations under the provisions of NAFTA, CAFTA-DR, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), and other international investment agreements, typically applying the arbitration rules of ICSID, UNCITRAL, and major international commercial arbitration centers. With extensive experience representing Fortune 500 clients, Ian advises corporations on geopolitical concerns when their investments face challenges overseas. He has worked extensively with clients involving issues in the energy and natural resources sector – such as power generation, oil and gas, and mining.

Paola Patarroyo is an Associate at Esguerra Asesores Jurídicos in Bogota, Colombia. Her legal practice has focused on public international law and dispute resolution. In private practice, she has worked in Colombia and the United States advising clients in complex commercial litigation and international arbitration under ICC, ICSID and UNCITRAL rules. She has carried out multiple procedures in matters of construction, unfair competition, telecommunications, natural resources, and claims against States before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and procedures between sovereign States.

Martina Polasek is a Depuy Secretary-General at ICSID. Ms. Polasek joined ICSID in September 2001. Prior to joining ICSID, she worked as an attorney with the law firms of Jeantet & Associés in Paris, France (1997 – 1998) and White & Case LLP in Prague, Czech Republic (1998 – 2001).
 

Session IV

Chiann Bao is listed on the panel of the major arbitration institutions and has served as tribunal chair, co-arbitrator and sole arbitrator in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations under the ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, HKIAC, KCAB, CIETAC, and SCIA rules. With almost 20 years of experience working in Hong Kong, New York and London, Chiann Bao practises exclusively as an arbitrator and mediator and is a member of Arbitration Chambers. Prior to becoming an independent arbitrator and mediator, Chiann worked in private practice where she focused on complex international arbitration and litigation, acting as counsel for corporates, state-owned enterprises and states in a range of disputes in various sectors. Chiann has served as counsel in cases arising from construction projects, intellectual property, licensing, shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, real estate projects, financial services agreements and other contractual disputes.

Julie Bedard is head of Skadden's International Litigation and Arbitration Group for the Americas. She is a member of Skadden’s Policy Committee, the firm’s governing body. Fluent in French, Spanish and Portuguese, Ms. Bédard practices in four languages in complex international litigation and arbitration matters. Trained in both civil and common law, Ms. Bédard has a doctorate in conflict of laws and represents clients in connection with litigation and arbitration proceedings throughout the world, raising disputes on governing law, jurisdiction, the enforcement of arbitration agreements, extraterritoriality and international judgment enforcement. She regularly advises clients on protecting their global investments under international treaties and provides strategic advice on drafting dispute resolution clauses in international commercial contracts.

Tai-Heng Cheng is global co-head of international arbitration and trade at Sidley. Clients turn to him to solve their most significant legal problems. With over 20 years of experience, he is also a trusted advisor to companies, boards, and governments on issues beyond business disputes. He uses the full range of subject matter specialists at Sidley to devise and execute strategies that efficiently achieve his clients’ goals. Often this has involved a multi-pronged approach before courts, tribunals, regulators, and directly with counter-parties, in multiple countries. His clients span many industries, including energy and infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, real estate, manufacturing and financial services. While he is resident in the New York and Singapore offices, he also spends substantial time in Europe and Latin America representing clients.

Sudhanshu Roy is an international associate with the International Litigation and Arbitration practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Foley Hoag. His practice focuses on investor-state arbitrations, especially in cases involving the representation of sovereign clients before arbitration panels administered under the ICSID and UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Sudhanshu also worked on investor-state arbitrations and domestic cases involving India’s Foreign Direct Investment Policy.

Ibrahim Shehata is a Parter at Shehata & Partners in Cairo. Shehata started off his career focusing on corporate law where he successfully advised several multinational companies on doing business in Egypt. Being involved in the Egyptian renewable energy market since 2014, he developed a niche experience which makes him one of the leading lawyers in the field. Capitalizing on his immense arbitration knowledge, Shehata has assisted clients in navigating success in various high profile arbitral disputes, in particular with cases of construction arbitration.

Nicole Silver is a Shareholder in the Washington, DC office of Greenberg Taurig. Shefocuses her practice on international litigation and dispute resolution. She advises Sovereign States and private clients in international arbitration proceedings, including arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules, in a wide array of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and the environment. Nicole also represents clients in complex civil litigation, including products liability litigation and white collar criminal defense. Her experience includes preparing motions for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Frédéric Sourgens is the Senator Robert J. Dole Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Washburn Oil and Gas Law Center. He serves as Editor in Chief of Oxford University Press' InvestmentClaims reporter of international arbitral awards between states and foreign investors. Professor Sourgens is a globally recognized authority on the intersection between international energy law, international dispute resolution, and transnational law and globalization. Many of his books and articles are routinely cited by counsel in international legal proceedings as well as affirmatively relied upon by international courts and tribunals. Freddy recently was included in the 2021 Who’s Who Legal list for international arbitration as one of half a dozen academics in the U.S. and approximately 30 academics worldwide.

Juris Conferences is a leading organization developed to promote discourse among figures in international arbitration and dispute resolution. To date, we have presented over 100 conferences. Our goal is to give interested legal practitioners an entrée into these fora. As a division of JurisNet, LLC, the leading legal publisher of materials on arbitration and dispute resolution, Juris Conferences is in a prime position to provide the most accurate and relevant information to those practicing in the areas of arbitration and ADR.

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