We are pleased to share with you the details of the upcoming Conference of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA), taking place in Madrid on Thursday 16 March 2023 (from 09:00 CET).
Tag: Andrew Cannon
44th FA MANN LECTURE, 30 NOVEMBER 2022: PROFESSOR CAMPBELL MCLACHLAN KC – “FOREIGN RELATIONS LAW REVISITED”
44th FA MANN LECTURE
PROFESSOR CAMPBELL MCLACHLAN KC – “FOREIGN RELATIONS LAW REVISITED”
30 November 2022
The Old Hall, Lincoln’s Inn, London
The 44th of a series of annual lectures in honour of the late Dr FA Mann QC (Hon) (1907-1991) will take place in London on 30 November 2022. This series of lectures is arranged by the Partners of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and given under the auspices of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
HSF PROUD GOLD SPONSORS AT THE LONDON CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL LAW: 10-11 OCTOBER 2022
The London Conference on International Law will be taking place at the QEII Centre, London, on Monday 10 October and Tuesday 11 October 2022.
EFILA 8th ANNUAL LECTURE, 13 OCTOBER 2022
We are pleased to share with you the details of the upcoming 8th EFILA Annual Lecture, taking place in Brussels on Thursday 13 October 2022 (from 15:00 CEST).
This year’s EFILA Annual Lecture will focus on ‘ESG Investment Strategy’ and will consist of two parts.
THE GAMBIA v MYANMAR: ICJ PRONOUNCES ON KEY ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
On 22 July 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed all preliminary objections raised by Myanmar against a claim brought by The Gambia alleging violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention). The judgment confirms that the ICJ will go on to rule on the merits of The Gambia v. Myanmar. The ICJ’s judgment also provides guidance on key issues in international dispute settlement, particularly in relation to claimant State standing and establishing a “dispute” for jurisdictional purposes.
ICSID Releases Latest Caseload Statistics for FY2022
On 4 August 2022, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) released its latest biannual caseload statistics for FY2022 (available here). The report also captures trends of ICSID cases over a longer period since 1972. In this blogpost, we have summarised the key highlights of the report. Continue reading
Diplomatic immunity denied by UK Supreme Court in relation to alleged breaches of modern slavery laws
London is home to one of the largest diplomatic communities in the world, with over 160 embassies. In a significant judgment by a majority of three, the UK Supreme Court (the Court) in Basfar v Wong [2022] UKSC 20 has confirmed that diplomats are unable to rely on their diplomatic immunity in response to alleged breaches of modern slavery laws. The majority found that the alleged breaches fell within the “commercial activity” exception in Article 31(1)(c) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 (the Convention) on the basis that the allegations constituted “modern slavery“. The Court also considered that there is a distinction between “modern slavery“, which does engage the “commercial activity” exception, and employing a domestic worker, which does not itself constitute the exercise of a “commercial activity” by a diplomatic agent within the meaning of the exception.
CEDR PRODUCES GUIDE TO INVESTOR-STATE MEDIATION
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) has released an investor-state Mediation Guide (the Guide) to assist lawyers and users of investor-state mediation with the process. HSF Partner, Andrew Cannon, a member of CEDR’s advisory group of leading practitioners, contributed to the Guide.
ICSID MEMBER STATES APPROVE AMENDED 2022 ARBITRATION RULES
On 21 March 2022, the member states of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) approved wide-ranging amendments to the ICSID Regulations and Rules, which will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The approved amendments are the product of a rule amendment project which commenced in October 2016, pursuant to which the ICSID Secretariat has published six working papers (WPs) detailing successive changes to the amendments proposed (see our previous PIL Notes post on WP 5). The stated goals of the amendments are to “modernise, simplify and streamline the rules, while also leveraging information technology to reduce the environmental footprint of ICSID proceedings“.
ENGLISH COMMERCIAL COURT DETERMINES THAT A STATE-OWNED AIRLINE IS NOT ENTITLED TO BE SERVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE IMMUNITY ACT
In AELF MSN 242, LLC (a Puerto Rico limited liability company) v De Surinaamse Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. D.B.A. Surinam Airways [2022] EWHC 544 (Comm), the English Commercial Court (the “Court“) considered whether the national flag carrier of Suriname (“SLM“) was entitled to be served with proceedings in accordance with s12(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978 (the “SIA“). The SIA confers certain general immunities and privileges on foreign States and prescribes a mandatory process for the service of documents instituting proceedings “against a State“. SLM argued that even though it was not an executive organ of the State (but instead a State-owned “separate entity“, as described in s14 SIA), it should be served in accordance with the SIA. However, the Court held that separate entities are not entitled to be served with proceedings in the manner that States are required to be served under s12(1) SIA.