Thirty Ninth ITF Public Conference: Energy Disputes in ISDS

Event Details

On 21 April 2023, the Investment Treaty Forum brings together senior practitioners, representatives of States, arbitrators, academics and other experts to discuss energy disputes between investors and states.

Geopolitical turbulence, advances in technology and the growing demand for renewable energy sources present particular challenges to investors and States. The new regulations and the fluctuations of energy prices create peculiar problems for foreign investors who enter into join ventures, conclude product sharing and investment agreements with stabilisation clauses and other provisions aimed at protecting their interests.

Inevitably disputes arise, and a significant share of them relate to the transition to green economy and regulatory changes, which accompany it. We also see a greater prominence of new types of disputes, including decommissioning disputes and disputes related to hydrogen.

This one-day conference will discuss this and other complex issues arising in the context of energy disputes between investors and states.

Join the conversation @BIICL #ITFLaw #ISDS

Keynote Speaker

Prof. Nick Butler is Visiting Professor and founding chair of the Policy institute at King's College, London. He was formerly Group Vice President for Strategy and Policy at BP and subsequently senior policy adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He writes on energy policy for Project Syndicate, the Financial Times and is a regular contributor for the BBC.

Programme   

9:00 - 9:30  Registration with tea/coffee

9:30 - 9:45  Welcome and Opening Remarks
Prof. Yarik Kryvoi, Investment Treaty Forum Director, BIICL, London

9:45 - 10:15  Keynote Address
Prof. Nick Butler, founding chair of the Policy institute at Kings College, London

10:15 - 11:45  Panel 1. Key Legal Issues in Energy Disputes in ISDS
Vivek Kapoor, 39 Essex Chambers, London (chair)
Smaranda Miron, Energy Community Secretariat, Vienna - Changing Regulatory Landscape in the Energy Sector
Serhat Eskiyörük, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ankara - A State's Perspective on Energy Disputes between Investors & States
Matthew Weiniger KC, Linklaters, London - An Overview of Disputes Arising in the Energy Sector

11:45 - 12:00  Coffee/tea

12:00 - 13:30  Panel 2. Energy Disputes resulting from Transition to Green Economy and the Energy Charter Treaty Reform
Nicolas Angelet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels (chair)
Lucia Bíziková, DLA Piper, London -  Climate Justice and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Standards 
Alejandro Carballo Leyda, Energy Treaty Charter Secretariat, Brussels - The Challenges of the ECT Reform
Jakob Ragnwaldh, Mannheimer Swartling, Singapore - The ECT Reform from an Arbitration Lawyer's Perspective

13:30 - 14:30  Lunch

14:30 - 16:00 Panel 3. Emerging Issues in Energy ISDS
Jennifer Younan, Shearman & Sterling, Paris (chair)
Hamed El-Kady, UNCTAD, Geneva - Emerging Climate Change-Related Provisions in International Investment Agreements (tbc)
Alison Macdonald KC, Essex Court Chambers, London - Energy-Related Disputes in Various International Fora
Prof. Mark Kantor, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. - Valuation Issues in Energy Disputes

16:00 - 16:15  Concluding Remarks
Christophe Bondy, Steptoe & Johnson, London

Download PDF 

This programme is subject to change.

Pricing and Registration

This is a hybrid event, being held in person at the BIICL office in Russell Square, London and virtually.

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