Transnational Arbitration

State Parties in Contract-Based Arbitration:

The Theory and Practice of Private-Public Arbitration

Washington, D.C., USA

Past Event

MCLE Credit will be available

Washington Hilton
1919 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009

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Registrar: +1.972.244.3403
ITA: +1.972.244.3414
Fax: +1.972.244.3401
E-Mail: ita@cailaw.org

Overview

The ½-day ITA-ASIL Conference is presented annually in Washington, D.C. by the ITA Academic Council with the American Society for International Law (ASIL) immediately preceding the ASIL Annual Meeting. Scholarship is a hallmark of this conference. The conference concludes with a networking luncheon.

Download the Brochure (pdf)

For more details, download the online brochure.

Conference Co-Chairs

Mélida N. Hodgson
Jenner & Block LLP
New York City

Prof. Dr. Stephan W. Schill
Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Schedule and Faculty

The conference examines contract-based investment and commercial arbitration between private parties, on the one hand, and states, state instrumentalities and state-owned entities, on the other. Whereas treaty-based investment arbitration has garnered significant (and often critical) attention over the past decades, the participation of public actors as parties in contract-based arbitration has largely escaped scrutiny. Yet, contract-based arbitrations with states are on the rise, driven by, among other things, concession agreements, privatization processes in infrastructure, public utility, security, and education, sovereign bond and debt restructuring processes, as well as by the conditions imposed by development finance and investment insurance providers. What is more, debates and backlash against treaty-based investment arbitration is likely to increasingly shift disputes into contract-based arbitration.

At the same time, contract-based private-public arbitration is often treated simply as another form of international commercial arbitration, even though the involvement of public actors raises a host of distinct issues, including problems of administrative and constitutional law, that affect arbitrability, arbitral procedure, court supervision, and enforcement. Furthermore, because of the participation of public actors, many of the legitimacy issues currently surrounding treaty-based arbitration arguably also arise in respect of contract-based private-public arbitration. The conference examines the theoretical framework for, and challenges of, public actor participation in contract-based investment and commercial arbitration and addresses the characteristics of such arbitration as compared to private-private arbitration in both theoretical and practical terms.

8:00 am


Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 am


Welcome and Introduction

  • Joseph E. Neuhaus, Chair, ITA Advisory Board, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York City
  • Prof. Sean D. Murphy, President, ASIL, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.

9:05 am


Keynote Address: State Parties in Contract-Based Arbitration: Origins, Problems, and Prospects of Private-Public Arbitration

The keynote introduces the kinds of contractual disputes involving public actors that are settled through arbitration, discuss the drivers for such arbitrations, and provide a conceptual framework to analyze these arbitrations. It will discuss in particular to which extent contract-based private-public arbitrations should be treated in the same manner as private-private commercial arbitration, or whether they should be related closer to the debates we have in the context of investment treaty arbitrations.

  • The Honorable Charles N. Brower, Judge ad hoc, International Court of Justice; Arbitrator, 20 Essex Street Chambers, Washington, D.C.

Commentator: Abby Cohen Smutny, White & Case LLP, Washington, DC

9:35 am


The Legal Framework of Private-Public Arbitration: At the Crossroads Between Public Law, Commercial Arbitration, and International (Investment) Law

This panel focuses on the legal issues surrounding private-public arbitration from a theoretical perspective. It addresses three sets of questions: (1) the position of contract-based private-public arbitration between private and public law (i.e. party autonomy and governance by contract v the role of constitutional law and constitutional courts); (2) the specificities of private-public arbitration as compared to private-private arbitration (e.g. arbitrability, arbitral procedure, court overview, enforcement); and (3) the overlap with investment treaty arbitration (e.g. parallel contract-based commercial arbitration and investment treaty-based proceedings; breach of contract as breach of treaty, etc.).

Introduction and Moderator: Prof. Dr. Stephan W. Schill, Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Panelists:

  • Catherine M. Amirfar, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York
  • Prof. Julian Arato, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn
  • D. Brian King, Arbitrator, New York

Roundtable and Q&A

10:45 am


Break

11:05 am


The Practicalities of Public Actor Involvement in Contract-Based International Arbitration

This rapid-fire Q&A-style panel examines the practical aspects of public actor participation in contract-based investment and commercial arbitration from the perspective of different actors. It includes assessment of the experience of, and concerns for: (1) counsel; (2) the arbitral institution; (3) the arbitrator; (4) civil society; and (5) the public actor involved.

Introduction and Moderator: Mélida N. Hodgson, Foley Hoag LLP, New York City

Panelists:

  • Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Geneva
  • Prof. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Law Faculty, University of Geneva, Geneva
  • Bart Legum, Dentons, Paris
  • Hugo Perezcano, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ontario
  • Martina Polasek, Deputy Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Washington, D.C.

Roundtable and Q&A

12:15 pm


Concluding Remarks

  • Prof. Chiara Giorgetti, Chair, ITA Academic Council, University of Richmond School of Law, Washington, D.C.

12:20 pm


Networking Luncheon

1:30 pm


Adjourn

For information and to register for the 113th ASIL Annual Meeting, March 27-30, 2019, also presented at the Washington Hilton Hotel, please click here.

Hotel Information

The cost of housing is not included in tuition. However, rooms (in limited number) have been reserved at the Washington Hilton Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009. You may book, modify, or cancel hotel reservations online. The reduced conference room rate is $259 + applicable taxes/night. We anticipate the room block will sell out, so we encourage you to make your reservation early.  The last day to obtain this special rate is March 6, 2019.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Lanyard Sponsorship (Exclusive) - $3,500 - SOLD OUT

  • Exposure to thousands of ITA and ASIL constituents
  • Recognition as a Sponsor on the conference websites, in the conference brochure, in e-marketing and at the conference
  • Name/logo on the conference name badge lanyard
  • Name/logo on the conference website with link to firm/company page
  • 2 complimentary registrants at the conference
  • An opportunity to display company/firm materials at the conference
  • Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly News & Notes

Conference Luncheon - $2,500 each

  • Exposure to thousands of ITA and ASIL constituents
  • Recognition as a Sponsor on the conference websites, in the conference brochure, in e-marketing and at the conference
  • Name/logo on the conference website with link to firm/company page
  • Recognition at the Luncheon
  • 2 complimentary registrants at the conference
  • Up to 3 complimentary guests at the Luncheon
  • Space for promotional materials at the conference
  • Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly News & Notes

Conference Breakfast and Coffee Breaks - $2,000 each

  • Exposure to thousands of ITA and ASIL constituents
  • Recognition as a Sponsor on the conference websites, in the conference brochure, in e-marketing and at the conference
  • Name/logo on the conference website with link to firm/company page
  • 1 complimentary registrant at the conference
  • Space for promotional materials at the conference
  • Post-conference recognition at ITA’s website and in its quarterly News & Notes

Exhibitor - $1,500 each

  • Space to display company/firm materials at the conference.
  • Name/logo on Conference website with link to company page.
  • Post-conference recognition on the ITA website and in its newsletter, News and Notes

For further information, please contact Lilly Hogarth (+1.972.244.3424).

Other Information

Nondiscriminatory Policy

The Center for American and International Law does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status in educational activities, scholarship programs or admissions.

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We do not sell or rent information to any outside parties. By providing your information, you will receive postal and electronic communications from the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) of The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) in accordance with CAIL's Privacy Policy. If we co-sponsor a program with another organization, information may be shared between the parties. All such co-sponsors will be identified on the event details and registration page. At any point, you can opt-out or unsubscribe by selecting either link at the bottom of each email or call us at 972.244.3400.

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