Investment Arbitration Conference 2020: Call for Contributions
3 min readYEREVAN, Armenia – The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to announce a call for contributions to the Investment Arbitration Conference 2020 organized by the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Clinic of AUA’s Master of Laws (LL.M.) program. The conference will be held at AUA on May 21, 2020.
In the economic and legal environment of Armenia, the topic of investment arbitration has recently become a central topic of research, debate, and discussion more than ever before. This is because Armenia is currently, wrongly or rightly, facing the prospect or threat of becoming involved in major investment arbitrations which, depending on the outcome, could substantially impact the Armenian economy, as well as prospects of foreign investments in Armenia.
The Government of Armenia has signed Bilateral Investment Treaties with several countries. More importantly, Armenia joined the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention) in 1992 (signed on September 16, 1992, entered into force on October 16, 1992). The Convention created the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). By joining the Convention, the Government of Armenia accepted that, subject to meeting the conditions of the ICSID Convention and the Rules, its disputes with foreign investors may be settled by arbitration in accordance with ICSID Rules.
Although ICSID has practically become the main venue for settlement of investment disputes by arbitration and, therefore, the subject of investment arbitration is usually seen in the context of ICSID arbitration, ICSID is not the sole venue for settlement of investment disputes.
The Investment Arbitration Conference 2020 aims to examine the subject matter, in general, with particular emphasis on ICSID arbitration.
The following initial panels are proposed for the Investment Arbitration Conference 2020:
- Definition of investment dispute and relevance to or effect on third parties;
- “Treaty shopping” for purposes of investment protection and relevance to investment arbitration;
- Dispute settlement mechanisms under Bilateral Investment Treaties and relevance to or effect on ICSID arbitration;
- Nationality issues under ICSID, dual nationals, corporate nationality, multinational corporations, group companies. nationality of shareholders, corporate veil;
- Change of nationality, change of corporate seat or State of registration, corporate restructuring, merger;
- Claim categories: The Investor; The State;
- Fair and equitable treatment-consequences of failure to provide;
- Expropriation, as the main category of investor claim: When does State action or inaction become expropriation?;
- Police Power and State defenses in investment disputes and investment arbitration.
Guidelines and Schedule:
Interested participants should, by the date stated under Conference Timeline, inform the organizers of their intention to submit papers and the title of the intended paper. The submitted abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of three and could be presented, if approved. Each paper presentation time is 20 minutes followed by a 20-minute Q&A after each session. It is expected to have two sessions in the morning and one in the afternoon. Following the last session, time will be allotted to discussions allowing the participants to present their views, opinions, and comments. The expected time for this session is 40 minutes
Conference Timeline:
- March 5, 2020: Submission of the proposed title of the paper
- March 16, 2020: Submission of abstracts
- April 1, 2020: Decision on abstract acceptance to be communicated to authors
- May 18, 2020: Paper submission deadline
- May 21, 2020: The Conference: 9.30 am to 4 pm
All submissions should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected].
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.