Call for Papers: Reforming International Investment Arbitration Workshop

The ISDS Academic Forum together with PluriCourts Centre for Excellence (LEGINVEST) and Forum for Law & Social Science at the University of Oslo have issued a call for papers for a workshop on "Reforming International Investment Arbitration," to take place February 1-2, 2019, in Oslo. Here's the call:

The ISDS Academic Forum, together with PluriCourts Centre for Excellence (LEGINVEST) and Forum for Law & Social Science at the University of Oslo, will host a workshop on reforming international investment arbitration in Oslo 1-2 February 2019. 

Submission Deadline: 1 December 2018. 

The workshop will be structured around six themes that have triggered criticism of the existing regime:

• Excessive costs & recoverability of cost awards
• Excessive duration of proceedings
• Lack of consistency & coherence in legal interpretation
• Incorrectness of decisions
• Lack of diversity among ISDS adjudicators
• Lack of independence, impartiality & neutrality

We welcome submissions on these themes and especially how they would be dealt with under many or all of the following four scenarios:

1. Improvement of current system, by effecting changes in respect of appointment of arbitrators or other procedural changes (for instance, appointment of arbitrators entrusted predominantly with arbitral institutions or effected jointly by disputing parties; roster-system; adoption of ethical rules; etc.) (“ISDS improved”);
2. Current ISDS system + appellate mechanism (“ISDS + appeal”);
3. Multilateral investment court, with or without a built-in appeal (“MIC”);
4. No ISDS, with two sub-scenarios, namely (i) recourse to domestic courts only; and (ii) state-to-state arbitration in addition to domestic courts (“No ISDS”).

One paper on each theme will be selected for the workshop and be presented alongside the studies prepared by the Forum’s working groups.

The workshop will also include a public session on the reform process while the remainder of the workshop will be limited to Forum members, presenters and a limited number of academic observers.

There is no registration fee. 

Submit a paper abstract

In order to apply, please submit a paper abstract of 250-500 words and an academic CV by 1 December 2018. Notification of acceptance will occur by 7 December 2018.

The full draft paper of maximum 8,000 words must be submitted by 25 January 2019.

Programme Committee

• Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, President, International Council for Commercial Arbitration and Professor Emerita, Geneva University Law School, CIDS Geneva
• Michele Potestà, Senior Researcher, Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS)
• Malcolm Langford, Professor of Public Law & Affiliate, Pluricourts, University of Oslo
• Daniel Behn, Associate Professor, Pluricourts, University of Oslo and Lecturer, University of Liverpool