Trade and Investment Disputes: Complement or Conflict?

Within the 2006 Annual WTO Conference, a session was held to examine the potential for conflicts in jurisprudence where similar provisions exist in both WTO agreements and international investment agreements (such as, for example, national treatment obligations or general exceptions), as well as certain procedural advancements under some FTAs (i.e., transparency; remedies) that could influence future changes to WTO procedures. The panel, chaired by Dr Federico Ortino, Director of the Investment Treaty Forum, was comprised as follows:

Speakers:

  • Lothar Ehring, DG Trade, EC Commission, Brussels
  • Professor Joost Pauwelyn, Duke University Law School
  • Gaetan Verhoosel, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Paris

Discussants:

  • Milos Barutciski, Davies Ward, Toronto
  • Ibironke Odumosu, University of British Columbia

Presentations from the panelists will be collected in a forthcoming Institute's publication, WTO Law and Process, Vol II (BIICL, 2007).