Book Launch and Conference
ASEAN and the Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Global Challenges and Regional Options
by Jansen Calamita & Charalampos Giannakopoulos
National University of Singapore, Centre for International Law (CIL)
29 November 2022, Tuesday, 5pm-7:30pm SGT / 9am-11:30am GMT / 10am-12:30pm CET
Panel 1 – “Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform and ASEAN: Do Multilateral Solutions Address Regional Needs?”
5pm-5:50pm SGT / 9am-9:50am GMT / 10am-10:50am CET
This panel addresses ongoing efforts to achieve ISDS reform from an ASEAN perspective, taking into account the experience, needs and concerns of ASEAN as a community and of its member states. The starting point for the discussion is the recently published book ASEAN and the Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Global Challenges and Regional Options (Edward Elgar, 2022), co-authored by N. Jansen Calamita and Charalampos Giannakopoulos.
Book Presentation
Jansen Calamita, Head, Investment Law and Policy; Research Associate Professor (Centre for International Law)
Charalampos Giannakopoulos, Senior Research Fellow (Centre for International Law)
Discussant
Pasha L. Hsieh, Professor of Law and Associate Dean (Singapore Management University)
Panel 2 – “The UNCITRAL ISDS Reform Process at 5 Years: What has been Accomplished and Where are We Heading? Views from RCEP States”
6pm-7:30pm SGT / 10am-11:30am GMT / 11am-12:30pm CET
Five years into UNCITRAL Working Group III’s ISDS reform process, this panel takes stock of the work that has been done thus far and questions the Working Group’s future direction. Whereas a number of reform proposals have been tabled for discussion and draft language has been produced for some proposed reforms, deep divides persist among delegations, not only on fundamental issues, but also with respect to reforms that otherwise garner general support, raising questions about the Working Group’s ability to complete its work by the end date of its mandate in 2026. Against this background, the panel brings together participants in the Working Group discussions from selected ASEAN and ASEAN-plus countries to share their informal views about the present and potential future of the ISDS reform process.
Moderator
Taylor St John, Lecturer (University of St Andrews); Researcher (PluriCourts, University of Oslo)
Panellists
Rhianna Benjamin, Director (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia)
Shotaro Hamamoto, Professor (Kyoto University); Member (Japan delegation to Working Group III)
Kraijakr Thiratayakinant, Counsellor (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand)
Young Shin Um, Senior Deputy Director (Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea)
Thi Chau Quynh Vu, Deputy Director-General (Ministry of Planning and Investment, Viet Nam)
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It deals both with formal adjudicatory procedures (mainly investment and commercial arbitration), but also mediation/ADR methods, negotiation and managerial ways to manage transnational disputes efficiently. See here for more information. You can apply for a free OGEMID trial membership and students can sign up for Young-OGEMID (which is free).