In light of the high (and growing) scale of awards in investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases, the critical issue of damages in international investment law is gaining increased attention.

This session of the IISD Webinar Series on Investment Law and Policy analyzed the importance of valuation of damages in the current ISDS context; the challenges that respondent states face with respect to the inconsistent and unpredictable technical approaches to damage valuation adopted by arbitral tribunals; elements for investment law reform to address concerning these issues; and related topics.

The main speaker was Jonathan Bonnitcha, Senior Lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia, and an Associate with IISD’s Economic Law and Policy Program. He and Sarah Brewin, International Law Advisor, Agriculture and Investment at IISD, have co-authored an IISD Best Practices Series paper on the issue of damages. The paper, now available as an advance draft for comment, will be the basis for the webinar presentation.

Please note that the webinar made brief reference to Unión Fenosa Gas v Egypt, as well as another case that also involved Egypt, referring to both as one case. These should have been referred to separately.

The webinar was moderated by Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Group Director of Economic Law and Policy at IISD. It was held on August 29, 2019, at 12 pm CEST on the Zoom platform for one hour. The video recording is available for viewing below.

What to expect at the upcoming working group meeting in New York.

IISD launched its Webinar Series on Investment Law and Policy with its first webinar April 17 at 9:00 a.m. ET in preparation for the meeting of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in New York.

Working Group III of UNCITRAL met in New York from April 23 to 27, 2018, to further its mandate on possible reform of investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS). At the meeting, the working group continued to identify concerns regarding ISDS, consider whether reform is desirable and, if so, develop recommendations. 

The goal of our webinar was to support governments and other stakeholders in building on the UNCITRAL process to work toward an ISDS reform agenda that works for sustainable development. 

Expert presenters provided an overview of the previous meeting of the working group on this topic—held in Vienna from November 27 to December 1, 2017—and analyzed some of the submissions made and positions taken. It also provided an opportunity for participants to discuss various options for multilateral reform of ISDS and the way forward at UNCITRAL.

Expert presenters

• Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder – Group Director, Economic Law and Policy, IISD
• Robert Howse – Lloyd C. Nelson Professor of International Law, New York University School of Law

Please contact [email protected] for more questions.