In late November 2017, states from around the world convened in Working Group III at UNCITRAL in Vienna to begin debates about the possible reform of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). In accordance with the UNCITRAL mandate (see  Annotated Provisional Agenda) that was given in July 2017: The Working Group

Bryan Mercurio and I have a new IIEL Issue Brief in which we argue against using industry (e.g. tobacco) carveouts as a way to ensure policy space in investment agreements. Instead of carveouts, we think that well drafted general exceptions clauses are more useful (well drafted obligations are also

A lot of people are worried about the trading system these days, and are looking for ways to save it. My friends Frank Garcia and Tim Meyer are trying to save it from the left (drawing in part on Frank's forthcoming book Trade and Consent: Trading Freely in

This is from a U.S. third party submission [CORRECTION - that link is to a "Legal Interpretation" submitted by the U.S.; the third party submission is here] in the European Union – Measures Related to Price Comparison Methodologies (DS516) WTO dispute: 8.6. Section 15 is not an

This is from the European University Institute and the University of Portsmouth: Call for Papers: "Economic Constitutionalism: Mapping its Contours in European and Global Governance" The School of Law at the University of Portsmouth and the European University Institute (EUI) are organising a 2-day international conference to

This is from Inside US Trade: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission for additional information in the Section 201 probe into solar imports, focusing in his request on so-called “unforeseen developments” -- an issue that sources say has contributed to U.S.

From the folks at SIEL: The call for papers, panels & posters for the 6th SIEL Biennial Global Conference has been extended to December 20, midnight GMT. The Conference will be held from 12-14 July 2018 at American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. Please keep the

This is from the U.S. statement at the November 22 DSB meeting: 7. APPELLATE BODY MATTERS A. STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN B. APPELLATE BODY APPOINTMENTS: PROPOSAL BY ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, EUROPEAN UNION, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, HONG KONG, CHINA; MEXICO, NICARAGUA, NORWAY, PAKISTAN, PERU, RUSSIAN

I had a recent twitter exchange that baffled me at first, but eventually clarified something in the ISDS debate that I have come across before and found confusing. Sometimes ISDS critics, including me, will say something along these lines: "Disputes between foreign investors and host governments can usually be

Law professor Pasha Hsieh sends the following: Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Law will hold the ASEAN Law Conference on December 7-8, 2017. Speakers and commentators include colleagues from various universities and governments, the ASEAN Secretariat, the World Bank and Sidley Austin LLP. The program is available at