201911.07
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round-up of Q3 2019 & update

in EFILA

The past months and weeks have been extra-ordinarily busy.

This is a short summary of the past activities and outlook to some upcoming events.

In September & October I taught again my course “International Investment Law” at the Free University Brussels – Brussels Diplomatic Academy, with many very enthusiastic students.

At the beginning of October I was chairing a panel on the need of continued investment protection, which was organized by the two most important French business associations AFEP and MEDEF. More than 150 CEOs attended the event and demanded from the French Minister on European Affairs that investment protection is preserved.


In mid-October I attended as Secretary General of EFILA the UNCITRAL WG III meeting on ISDS reforms in Vienna. The meeting resulted in the agreement on several issues. Read here my summary of the meeting published in Borderlex.

Just before the UNCITRAL meeting the following  piece written together with Rishi Gulati was published:

Columbia FDI Perspectives Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues No. 262 October 7, 2019

Guaranteeing the independence of the judges of a Multilateral Investment Court: A must for building the Court’s credibility

In early November, I participated in a panel discussion on the interaction between the protection of the environment and investment arbitration organized by Sam Pape, YoungITA, in London.




Also, in early November my contribution to the ISDS Guide 2020 has been published.

Moving forward, on 14 November, the 5th EFILA Annual Lecture will be delivered by Prof. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva on: “The Proliferation of Courts and Tribunals: Navigating Multiple Proceedings”, in the Press Club in Brussels.

Registration is still open, click here.

Finally, on 30 January 2020 the 5th EFILA Annual Conference will take place in London with a stellar line-up of speakers. The topic will be: “Investment Protection in the EU: Alternatives to intra-EU BITs”.
The Keynote Speaker will be Meg Kinnear, Secretary General of ICSID.

Click here for the programme & registeration:

In addition, offering legal advice to various law firms on various ISDS cases continued, including for some new potential cases.

In sum, the last months have been pretty productive and the next months certainly will continue to be busy.