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Twenty Essex
Location: 1:00pm - 2:30pm UK Time Virtual Event (Zoom) Members: Free to attend - Book by 12 Jul Non Members: Register above as a member and attend for free - Book by 12 Jul
UNCITRAL is pitching an independent advisory centre as one of the key elements of ISDS reform for the 21st century. Join our panel of experts as we examine the rationale behind such a centre, how it might work in practice, and the hurdles it will need to overcome to be a valuable addition to the investor-State dispute settlement system.
Questions to be answered by our panellists will include:
For well over 20 years, Baiju has focused exclusively on international arbitration matters. He has served as counsel and arbitrator (sole, wing, and chair) in international arbitrations involving ICSID, ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, UNCITRAL Rules, bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the Energy Charter Treaty, NAFTA, DR-CAFTA, and public international law. He has also advised states on the negotiation and drafting of investment treaties, and investors on the (re)structuring of their investments for maximum treaty protection consonant with tax and corporate governance strategies.
Sarah is Co-Head of International Arbitration at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, a role covering the U.K., Central and Eastern Europe, the UAE, Singapore, Turkiye, China, Brazil and Mexico. She is a seasoned international arbitration lawyer specialising in both international commercial arbitration and investor state disputes, representing clients before all key arbitral institutions including the LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, ICC, ICDR, SIAC, HKAIC, SCC, ICSID, and in arbitrations conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules, and foreign investment laws.
Emilia Onyema is a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London where she teaches international commercial arbitration, international investment law and commercial law in a global context. She is qualified to practice law in Nigeria, as a Solicitor in England & Wales, Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and independent arbitrator. She is a member of the Cairo Regional CICA Advisory Committee, LACIAC Court member, among others. She convenes the SOAS Arbitration in Africa conference series and leads the SOAS Arbitration in Africa biennial survey research project; she co-authored the African Promise and founded the Arbitration Fund for African Students (AFAS) a registered charitable organisation in England. Her research interests focus on the development of international arbitration in Africa and the engagement of Africans in international arbitration. She publishes widely in her areas of expertise. She has experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator, and acts as legal expert witness in international arbitration.
Shane Spelliscy is currently the Director General of the Trade Law Bureau of the Government of Canada. As the Director General, he is the Government’s most senior international trade lawyer, responsible for all international trade related legal advice. He joined the Trade Law Bureau in 2008. He has provided advice on Canada's obligations under its trade and investment treaties and served as counsel in trade and investment treaty negotiations and disputes. He has acted as Canada’s delegate at UNCITRAL since 2008, including with respect to the revision of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, the development of the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency, and the negotiation of the Mauritius Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based ISDS. In November 2017, he was elected by the Member States of UNCITRAL as the Chair of Working Group III, which has been tasked with considering possible reforms in the field of ISDS.