Originally from Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law - Volume 3

STEPHEN L. DRYMER: This panel discussion, as you are aware, concerns the issue of interpretation of substantive law in the investment arbitration context and it addresses, more specifically, the question of whether there is a place in this field for the concept of margins of appreciation of substantive standards and protections. I won’t say more about the issue than that since you will hear from the authors themselves in a moment. 

Our first speaker will be Sarah Vasani. Sarah is an associate in King & Spalding’s Washington D.C. office, where she specializes exclusively in international arbitration. She was, while at Vanderbilt University Law School, president of the Latin American Law Society and executive officer of the Foreign Service Legal Society. She also served as an intern to the Secretariat of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in Paris.

Our second speaker is Ms. Kassi Tallent, an associate at Crowell & Moring’s International Dispute Resolution Group, focusing on international arbitration and investment and commercial cases. As does Sarah, Kassi has a very interesting background. Prior to joining her firm, among other things, Kassi served as an intern in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as well as in the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Following brief presentations by our two speakers, you will be entertained by comments and discussion from our distinguished panelists. They are, first of all, Andrea Menaker, Partner at White & Case, and, prior to that, Chief of the NAFTA arbitration division for the U.S. State Department where she represented the U.S. in a number of investor-state arbitrations both under NAFTA and under BITs. Andrea also participated in the drafting of dispute resolution provisions in many of the international instruments to which the United States is a contracting party.

Seated next to Andrea is Jonathan Sutcliffe. Jonathan is Partner in the London office of Fulbright & Jaworski with significant experience in international commercial and investment arbitration. He also has what he refers to as a non-contentious practice. I’m not sure what that means, but advising on the drafting of arbitration and jurisdiction agreements and clauses. He is a lawyer qualified not only in New York, but in England and Wales as well.

Next to Jonathan is Felix Weinacht. Felix is an associate in the litigation group of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy in the firm’s New York office, concentrating as well in the fields of international commercial and investment arbitration. In addition to representing numerous clients in those areas, Felix is also particularly active in the litigation of questions related to civil liability for purported violations of international law, which I consider interesting. And prior to joining Milbank, Mr. Weinacht was a law clerk at the ICJ in the Hague.