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Investment Treaty Forum

Overview 

The Investment Treaty Forum (ITF) was founded in 2004 to serve as a global centre for serious high-level debate in the field of international investment law. 

The Forum is a membership-based group, bringing together some of the most expert and experienced lawyers, business managers, policy advisers, academics and government officials working in the field. Like BIICL itself, the Forum has a reputation for independence, even-handedness and academic rigour. The Forum membership is by invitation only. 

The Forum members regularly meet within the framework of larger conferences and also smaller events hosted by members. Members also conduct research projects and take part in BIICL's training initiatives and other activities.

Investment Treaty Forum Brochure 

 
Forum Director

The Forum Director is Prof Yarik Kryvoi, a leading academic and practitioner in the field. Prof Kryvoi's expertise is primarily in the areas of international dispute resolution, including investor-state arbitration and international commercial arbitration, international administrative law and international public law.

He has several years of experience practising international dispute resolution with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Washington, DC and Baker & McKenzie in Saint Petersburg.
  

Patrons and Board

The Patrons of the Forum are:

  • HE Judge Rosalyn Higgins, GBE, KC
  • Yves Fortier, PC, CC, OQ, KC
      

Advisory Board

Since its inception, the Investment Treaty Forum's programme has been guided on an informal basis by a small Advisory Board which currently includes:

  • Christophe Bondy, Steptoe & Johnson;
  • Professor Andrea Bjorklund, McGill University;
  • José Manuel Gutiérrez Delgado, Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union;
  • Tomoko Ishikawa, Nagoya University;
  • Professor A Vaughan Lowe KC, All Souls College Oxford and Essex Court Chambers;
  • Loretta Malintoppi, 39 Essex Chambers;
  • Audley Sheppard KC, Clifford Chance;
  • Robert Volterra, Volterra Fietta, and Faculty of Law, UCL.

  
The Public International Law Advisory Panel of the Institute also provides useful advice and support to the Forum.

Forum Members

Investment Treaty Forum members include some of the most expert and experienced lawyers, academics and government officials and international civil servants working on international investment law.

Current members of the Investment Treaty Forum are listed below. The Forum membership is by invitation only. For further details on how to become a member of the Forum, please contact Professor Yarik Kryvoi.

Organisations

 
Individuals

  • Professor Nicolas Angelet, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels
  • Thayananthan Baskaran, Baskaran, Kuala Lumpur
  • Professor Andrea Bjorklund, McGill University, Montreal
  • Raja Bose, K&L Gates, Singapore
  • Dr Tillmann Rudolf Braun, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
  • Dr Stuart Dutson, Simmons & Simmons, London
  • Antolín Fernández Antuña, Antuña & Partners, Madrid
  • Raed Fathallah, Bredin Prat, Paris
  • Professor Matthew Happold, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
  • Robert Hunter, Osborne Clarke, London
  • Professor Tomoko Ishikawa, Nagoya University, Nagoya
  • Shreyas Jayasimha, Aarna Law, India
  • Mark Kantor, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
  • Vivek Kapoor, 39 Essex Chambers
  • Professor A Vaughan Lowe, All Souls College Oxford and Essex Court Chambers
  • Alison Macdonald KC, Essex Court Chambers, London
  • Loretta Malintoppi, 39 Essex Chambers, London
  • Dr Inga Martinkute, MMSP, Vilnius
  • Professor Emeritus Maurice Mendelson KC, Blackstone Chambers, London
  • David A. Pawlak, David A. Pawlak LLC, Warsaw & Washington, D.C.
  • Dr Anthony Sinclair, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, London
  • Can Yeginsu, 3 Verulam Buildings, London


Consultative Forum Members

Organisations

  • American Review of International Arbitration
  • Arbitration and Conciliation Centre Integrarse
  • Attorney General Office of the State of the Republic of Ecuador
  • Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
  • Department for International Trade, United Kingdom
  • Energy Charter Secretariat
  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdom
  • Gambia Maritime Administration
  • General Attorney´s Office, the Kingdom of Spain
  • Government of Jersey
  • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), United Kingdom
  • The International Institute for Sustainable Development
  • The Legal Office for International Trade Law, Ministry of Economy, Government of Mexico
  • Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Republic of Turkey
  • Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic
  • National Board of Trade, Sweden
  • Office of the Attorney General of Spain
  • Office of the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland
  • Office of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia on International Legal Matters
  • The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • The Permanent Court of Arbitration
  • The Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations Office
  • The Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the European Union
  • Secretariat for Legal Affairs - Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador
  • State Chancellery of Latvia
  • Trade Law Bureau, Government of Canada
  • Treasury Legal Advisers, Government Legal Department, United Kingdom
  • The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
     

Individuals

  • Sir Frank Berman, KCMG KC, Essex Court Chambers
  • Professor Jansen Calamita, National University of Singapore (former ITF director)
  • Norah Gallagher, Queen Mary University of London (former ITF director)
  • Judge Christopher Greenwood KC, International Court of Justice
  • Professor Loukas Mistelis, Queen Mary University of London
  • Professor Peter Muchlinski, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
  • Dr Federico Ortino, School of Law, King's College London (former ITF Director)
  • Dr Antonio Parra, Visiting Professor, University College London and former Deputy Secretary-General, International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
  • Dr Karl P Sauvant, Columbia University Law School
  • Professor Christoph Schreuer, University of Vienna
  • Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, Essex Court Chambers
  • Professor M Sornarajah, National University of Singapore

Assistance to States

The Forum is pleased to provide advice to States in investment treaty matters. 

Find out more details 

Young ITF

Established in 2021, Young ITF is a learning, discussion and networking forum for young practitioners, postgraduate students, civil servants and academics interested in international investment law. Young ITF aims to provide young professionals all around the globe with opportunities to develop their careers in international investment law by offering a forum for them to exchange ideas and connect with their peers and other professionals in the international investment arbitration community. Young ITF encourages young professionals to organise, and speak at, events and share their views on topical issues by way of publications.

Membership is free and open to postgraduate students, young practitioners, civil servants and academics aged under 35.

Find out more details 

International Investment Law and Dispute Resolution (online course) 

This online course provides a solid overview of the history and the rationale of protection of foreign direct investments, applicable law, the key principles of international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Participants will develop their own critical appreciation of international investment law and will cover the nature of international investment law, the main substantive and procedural principles, dispute resolution mechanisms and the current professional criticisms of the system.

Find out more on the course page.
 

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