23rd ITA-ASIL-ICSID Joint Conference

Overview

The ITA-ASIL-ICSID Conference is presented annually by the ITA Academic Council with the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and, from 2026, with The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The conference will occur immediately preceding the ASIL Annual Meeting. Scholarship is a hallmark of this conference.

The global investment treaty regime has undergone profound transformation in recent decades. Once hailed as a guarantor of investor confidence and global capital flows, investment treaties are now being renegotiated, recalibrated, or even set aside by states seeking greater policy space, alignment with sustainable development goals, and protection from arbitral proceedings. This conference takes stock of the forces reshaping investment treaty practice, the role of emerging jurisprudence and institutions, and the political economy behind treaty exit and re-design. Panels feature leading counsel, government negotiators, academics, and key personnel of international organizations to explore the present and future of the investment treaty system.

Conference Co-Chairs

Professor Jarrod Wong
University of the Pacific
Sacramento, CA, USA

Dr. Diora Ziyaeva
Dentons
New York, New York, USA

Schedule and Faculty

8:00-9:00 am - Registration

9:00-9:15 am - Welcome and Introduction

• Prof. Charles H. (Chip) Brower II, ITA Chair; Miller Canfield / Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA
• Mélida Hodgson, ASIL President; Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, New York NY, USA
• Martina Polasek, Secretary General, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

9:15-10:00 am - Keynote Discussion - The Negotiation of Investment Treaties

The reform process spearheaded by UNCITRAL Working Group III has become a global laboratory for conceptual and doctrinal shifts in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). UNCITRAL Working Group III has given states, particularly capital-importing states, an unprecedented forum for effecting changes in the investment treaty regime that go beyond the Working Group’s immediate work product. State representatives consider and debate policy positions on questions of regulatory space and arbitral liability under the treaties, and are brought up to speed on critical developments in the field, including the content of newer generation treaties that favor host states. Such exposure can change the dynamic of negotiations of particular treaties between states, even for bilateral treaty discussions that ordinarily occur in a somewhat siloed environment. This Keynote Discussion will consider the broader impact of Working Group III on investment treaty negotiations, including introducing host-state-friendly provisions in treaties under negotiation, the education and training of government representatives on treaty exposure, and efforts to conduct public consultations on states’ investment regimes.

• James Castello, Independent Arbitrator, New York, New York, USA
• Lucy Reed, Independent Arbitrator, New York, New York, US

10:00-10:15 am - Break

10:15-11:15 am - Panel: Recalibration of Investment Treaties

Even after mindful negotiation, investment treaties may fall short of their goals, or goals may change. Rather than terminating treaties, many states have opted for more creative recalibration. This may take the form of amending existing BITs, adopting interpretive statements, renegotiating key clauses, or acceding to new-generation bilateral or multilateral frameworks that rebalance obligations. Recalibration reflects both policy sophistication and political pragmatism - especially for states concerned with investor confidence, treaty shopping, and exposure to legacy claims. This panel will examine, inter alia, specific recalibration tools: rebalancing substantive standards (e.g., FET, expropriation), procedural reforms (e.g., ISDS opt-in/out provisions), and sunset clause renegotiation. Case studies will be drawn from Canada’s evolving treaty model, Colombia’s approach to balancing investor protection with environmental commitments, and ASEAN’s efforts to preserve coherence amid diverse national reforms.

Moderator: Dr. Diora Ziyaeva, Dentons, New York, New York, USA

Panelists:

• Bart Legum, Honlet Legum Arbitration, Paris, France
• Tom J. Sikora, ExxonMobil, Spring, Texas, USA
• Sylvie Tabet, Trade Law Bureau, Government of Canada, Toronto, ON. Canada

11:15-11:30 am - Break

11:30 am-12:30 pm - Termination of Investment Treaties

Unexpectedly, more capital-outbound states have terminated their investment treaties than capital-inbound states in the last few years. Prominently in 2020, EU Member States agreed to terminate intra-EU BITs via a termination agreement pursuant to Achmea (ECJ). More recently and dramatically, many states including Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, have withdrawn from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), although they remain bound by its 20-year sunset clause, even as the remaining state parties have undertaken a radical amendment of the ECT. Looking to the ECT as a case study, this panel will consider the rationales offered by withdrawing states and impact on remaining states, as well as the resulting jurisdictional confusion over which investors are protected and to what extent.

Moderator: Professor Jarrod Wong, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, CA, USA

Panelists:

• Professor Andrea Bjorklund, McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal, QC, Canada
• Karin L Kizer, U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C., USA
• Lukas Stifter, Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism , Vienna, Austria

12:30-1:15 pm - Networking Lunch

1:15-2:15 pm - A Conversation with Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler, Geneva, Switzerland)

Interviewed by Dr. Crina Baltag, Chair, ITA Academic Council, Associate Professor, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

This interview is the latest in a series organized by the ITA Academic Council to record the evolution of modern international arbitration in the words of those who have led it.

2:15-2:30 om - Concluding Remarks

Overnight Accommodations

Washington Hilton
1919 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009, US

Book Your Hotel

Sponsorship Opportunities

Lanyard Sponsor - $ 3,000 (exclusive)

• Name/logo on the conference name badge lanyard
• Exposure to thousands of ITA and ASIL constituents
• Recognition as Lanyard Sponsor on the conference website, in all marketing, and at the conference (posters, screens, etc.)
• 3 complimentary conference registrations (including luncheon)
• 1 exhibition table for promotional materials for opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference
• Name/logo on the conference website with link to company page
• Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly newsletter

Conference Luncheon Sponsor - $ 2,500 (limited to four)

(feat. “Preserving Perspectives” Oral History Interview of Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG KC, interviewed by Prof. Dapo Akande)

• Exposure to ITA and ASIL constituents
• Recognition as a sponsor of the Luncheon on the conference website, in all marketing, and at the conference (posters, screens, etc.)
• 2 complimentary conference registrations (including luncheon)
• 1 exhibition table for promotional materials for opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference
• Name/logo on the conference website with link to company page
• Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly newsletter

Refreshments and Coffee Breaks Sponsor - $ 2,000 each

• Exposure to ITA and ASIL constituents
• Recognition as a sponsor of the refreshments and coffee break on the conference website, in all marketing, and at the conference (posters, screens, etc.)
• 1 complimentary conference registration (including luncheon)
• 1 exhibition table for promotional materials for opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference
• Name/logo on the conference website with link to company page

Exhibitor (non-law firms only)

Contact the ITA Director of Sponsorships Lilly Hogarth for information on pricing for exhibitors (subject to available space).

• Exposure to ITA and ASIL constituents
• Recognition as an exhibitor on the conference website, in all marketing, and at the conference (posters, screens, etc.)
• 1 complimentary conference registration (including luncheon)
• 1 exhibition table for promotional materials for opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference
• Name/logo on the conference website with link to company page

Faculty Dinner

If you are interested in sponsoring the invitation-only faculty dinner on April 15, 2025, with the ITAASIL Conference speakers, please contact ITA Director T.L. Cubbage (tlcubbage@cailaw.org)

• Exposure to thousands of ITA and ASIL constituents
• Name/logo on the conference website and the conference platform with link to firm/company page
• An opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference, and to add links/materials to your online exhibitor booth on the conference platform
• Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly newsletter News & Notes

Other Information

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