In my newest blogpost for the EFILAblog I discuss the broader context of the newest statistics on investment treaty arbitration disputes published by UNCTAD. It is interesting to note that European States are very often Respondent and that the ECT is the most frequently used treaty. One conclusion is that the Rule of Law track record…
I am pleased to have been appointed as Mediator for the Energy Community. The Energy Community’s mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. The principal instrument to achieve this aim is the adoption of the EU’s legislation, the so-called “acquis…
My guest lecture on the wider implications of the CETA-drama, which I delivered last November at the Innsbruck University, has just been published in the newest issue of Int’l Lis – Corriere trimestrale della litigation internationale. Click on the link to download the PDF file. 9382966_INTL_00134992_2016_03-04_0111 In this lecture, I explain that the CETA-drama, in particular,…
In this blogpost for Practical Law Arbitration, I discuss the obstacles and opportunities for the UK to negotiate trade deals. WIth the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the EU Member States have – to a large extent – lost their competence to freely negotiate trade and investment agreements. The exact scope…
Now that the UK Government published its white paper on Brexit, many complex legal issues arise as to the trade relationship with the EU, but also with third states, such as the US, China. What kind of FTAs/BITs will the UK be able to conclude and with which countries? What kind of dispute settlement mechanisms will…
In this comment for Borderlex I analyze a development, which has not yet been noticed very much, namely, the fact that Trump has strange bedfellows from the left-wing anti-trade groups. Since US President Trump took office he has completely reversed the US trade policy from multilateralism to protectionism. He has pulled out the US from TPP…
