Call for Papers - ITA-IEL Joint Winter Forum

The Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) and the Institute for Energy Law (IEL) are jointly hosting the third annual ITA Winter Forum on February 20-21, 2014 in Houston. The 2014 Winter Forum will be held in connection with and immediately following the IEL's 65th Annual Oil & Gas Law Conference, which attracts over 450 business leaders, in-house counsel, practitioners and academics in the growing field of energy law.

The Winter Forum, like the two previous successful ones, will examine topical issues in international arbitration and include a session for presentation of paper(s).  In this session, leading legal scholars and practitioners will comment on the papers.  The aim is to integrate theoretical and practical aspects to better understand and shape the evolution of international arbitration.

Possible Topics for Papers

The theme for this year's paper session is the arbitration of international environmental disputes in the energy industry.  Within this theme, specific areas that might be explored include:

  • Sovereign counterclaims with environmental issues;
  • Overlapping contracts and how their provisions, including arbitral clauses,  may impact arbitration of environmental disputes;
  • Arbitration of environmental claims involving state-owned enterprises and host governments;
  • Drafting, applying, and enforcing stabilization clauses in the context of environmental laws, regulations, and claims;
  • Consideration of procedural issues, including issues related to arbitrator selection and challenge, evidentiary considerations, preliminary measures, concurrent proceedings, and enforcement and review in environmental cases;
  • The relationship between international commercial arbitration and investment law, as well as between these two pillars and environmental law;
  • The recent jurisprudence of national courts related to international arbitration of environmental disputes, either domestic or comparative, and the implications for basic concepts of jurisdiction, arbitrator competence and independence; and
  • Innovative research methodologies for the exploration and consideration of international arbitration and transnational dispute resolution in the context of environmental and energy disputes.

We encourage submission from both scholars and practitioners, whether established or emerging.  The Winter Forum seeks to integrate the insights and perspectives of both academics and practitioners across all levels - with distinction in terms of originality and significance being the common criterion.

Paper Submission and Selection

All proposals must be submitted by October 6, 2013, via email to kjohnson@cailaw.org. Proposals should be made in a Word document that is no longer than 1,000 words and include a cover email indicating your affiliated institution, your contact details and whether your paper has been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere.  In evaluating proposals, please note that priority will be given to unpublished papers and works-in-progress.  Every proposal will be reviewed on a blind basis by at least two members of the Selection Committee (identified below). 

We anticipate announcing the selected papers by October 22, 2013. The author(s) selected for the Winter Forum must be prepared to circulate a substantially complete draft of the paper no later than January 10, 2014. 

While all travel expenses cannot be reimbursed, selected authors will receive a waiver of the conference fee for the Winter Forum and two nights' accommodation in Houston.

Paper Publication

Papers and commentary from previous conferences have been published in the World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR).  While not required, publication in WAMR is encouraged for presentations at the Winter Forum.

Enquiries

Please submit enquiries to any of the ITA Winter Forum 2014 Co-Chairs, John Bowman (jbowman@kslaw.com), Michael Goldberg (michael.goldberg@bakerbotts.com) or Susan L. Karamanian (skaramanian@law.gwu.edu).

2014 ITA Winter Forum Selection Committee

Co-Chairs:
John Bowman, King & Spalding, Houston, Texas

Michael Goldberg, Baker Botts, Houston, Texas

Susan L. Karamanian, Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies, George Washington University Law School

Committee Members:
Professor Dr. Guido Carducci, Université Paris, Paris

Professor Chiara Giorgetti, University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia

Mr. David Haigh, Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP, Calgary

Professor John Lowe, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas

Professor Alan S. Rau, University of Texas Law School, Austin

Professor S.I. (Stacie) Strong, University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, Missouri

With the administrative support of David Winn, Director of the ITA