On 12 October 2017, ICJ Judge Sir Christopher Greenwood delivered the 3rd EFILA Annual Lecture in Brussels. The title of his Lecture was “MFN clauses – their real purpose and real effect”. As in previous years, the Lecture took place at the Press Club in Brussels. His excellent Lecture can be viewed at the YouTube…
The poison pill for maintaining intra-EU BITs arbitration The long-awaited Opinion of Advocate General (AG) Wathelet in the Achmea case has resulted in an unexpected and rather surprising Opinion. Many observers (including the present writer) had expected that the AG would hammer the final nail on the coffin of intra-EU BITs and arbitral tribunals based…
Lecturing investment law at the VUB Since two weeks I have been lecturing as Guestprofessor international investment law at the Free University Brussels – Brussels Diplomatic Academy (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB). 7 weeks of intensive international investment law The course spans 7 weeks and each lecture takes 3 hours. We cover all main aspects of…
AG: Intra-EU ISDS arbitration is compatible with EU law According to Advocate General Wathelet, the arbitration clause in the investment protection agreement concluded between the Netherlands and Slovakia is compatible with EU law! That clause does not constitute discrimination on grounds of nationality, is compatible with the preliminary ruling mechanism and does not undermine either…
On 12 October 2017, ICJ Judge Sir Christopher Greenwood will deliver the 3rd EFILA Annual Lecture The topic of his Lecture will be: “Most Favoured Nations Clauses in BITs – What is their Real Purpose (and their Real Effect)?” As Secretary General of EFILA, I am proud that we have been able to attract such…
The 2017 European Society of International Law (ESIL) conference will take place from 6-9 September in Naples. I will be speaking on Brexit and its impact on arbitration and investment treaties as well as the future trade relations between the UK-post Brexit and the EU.
As chair of the DAA Investment Committee it gives me great pleasure to invite you to the 2nd meeting with the following topic: President Trump, Brexit and elections in Europe: will arbitration survive the new era of protectionism? We will have two high-profile panels. The first panel will discuss whether Protectionism in Europe and the…
Read my blogpost published on the Kluwer Arbitration blog on the CJEU’s Opinion on EU-SING FTA. The Court opinied that the EU-SING FTA must be signed and ratified as a mixed agreement, i.e., by the EU and all its Member States. This will further delay the entering into force of that agreement and gives national,…
I am very pleased to announce that I have been appointed as Of Counsel and member of the international arbitration, trade and infrastructure group of Wöss & Partners. Wöss & Partners is an international law firm based in Mexico, with offices in Washington and Lima. Under the guidance of Herfried Wöss, the firm has over the…
I am pleased to have been invited to speak again at the 3rd Annual GAR Live BITs event, which is going to take place on 23 May 2017 in Washington, DC. I will be one of the debaters on the following motion: “This house believes that investor-state arbitration will remain an essential component to the…
From 17-22 July 2017, the EFILA Investment Treaty Arbitration Academy will take place in Rotterdam. This Academy is specifically dedicated to provide an in-depth knowledege – both theoretical and practical – regarding all relevant aspects of investment treaty arbitration. We have assigned well-known and experienced experts as lecturers and it is my pleasure to be…
The Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs (Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken) has just published (only in Dutch) a report on the Brexit negotiations. The report focuses mainly on the consequences of Brexit for the Netherlands and the best negotiation strategy for the Netherlands. The report is extensive and contains some interesting points, which should be of interest…
