BIT Cooling-off Period: Opportunities for Settlement
Date & Time:
20 October 2021
14:00 - 15:30 UK time (16:00 – 17:30 Kyiv time)
Description:
CIArb Europe Branch, in association with Hillmont Partners, a reputable British-Ukrainian law firm, invites you to join us for a special discussion on cooling-off periods that under bilateral investment treaties provide an opportunity to resolve disputes amicably. Our renowned speakers and esteemed moderators, including top representatives from arbitration institutions such as ICSID, as well as of governments and state agencies, from private practice and beyond, will address how this investor-state mechanism, systematically inserted in BIT’s but not that often triggered, may interplay with the dynamics of international mediation and arbitration with States.
They will highlight current legal frameworks and regulations in the EU, US and Ukraine, discuss the examination and consideration procedure of the BIT dispute notice and provide recommendations for BIT claimants on what should be done during the cooling-off period. The debate with revolve around the following subtopics (inter alia):
- The drafting of a cooling-off period clause in a BIT: why, how and when?
- Are there different types of such clauses?
- Do investors and states have different perspectives on the best use of this period?
- How frequently are they used in practice?
- Any differences between ICSID and UNCITRAL mechanisms as to how these are managed and processed?
- How do cooling-off periods, mediations and conciliations interact?
- To what extent do the new rules express ICSID’s favorable position towards the amicable resolution of disputes?
- Which rules between the ICSID mediation rules and the ICSID conciliation rules should be favored during a cooling-off period?
- What are the hurdles / disadvantages preventing users from using the mediation rules during a cooling off period?
- Do BIT’s, in general, ensure compliance with the cooling-off period?
- What means are available to the arbitral tribunal to sanction non-compliance with the cooling-off period?
In collaboration with (all TBD):
The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF)
The Italian Forum for Arbitration and ADR (ArbIt)
Solución de Conflictos Legales (SCL)
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR)
Media support:
CIS Arbitration Forum (http://www.cisarbitration.com) – confirmed
CEE Legal Matters – TBD
Ukrainian Journal of Business Law (www.ujbl.info) – confirmed
Yurpraktika (Legal Practice weekly), Yurgazeta (Legal Gazette Weekly) - TBD
Cost(s): Attendance to this event is free of charge, but pre-registration is required.
DRAFT AGENDA (UK time)
14:00 – 14:15 – Welcome speeches
- Jacopo Monaci Naldini - FCIArb, Chair of the CIArb - Europe Branch; Partner at JMU Law Firm (Florence, Italy)
- Jalal El Ahdab - MCIArb, Vice Chair of the CIArb - Europe Branch; Partner at Bird & Bird (Paris, France)
14:15 – 15:00 – Cooling-off periods: Opportunities for settlement
Guest Speaker:
- Meg Kinnear - ICSID Secretary General (Washington, USA): Cooling-off periods as a tool to mediate under the ICSID rules
Follow-up Speakers:
- Ivan Lishchyna, Former Deputy Minister, Government Commissioner for the European Court of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
- Domenico Di Pietro - Co-Chair ArbIt, Partner at GST LLP (Miami, USA; London, UK)
- Natasha Peter - Counsel at Gide (Paris, France)
Moderators:
- Andrii Chornous - MCIArb, Counsel at Hillmont Partners (Kyiv, Ukraine)
- Burcu Osmanoğlu - FCIArb, Honorary Secretary of CIArb Europe Branch, Partner at Osmanoğlu Hukuk Law Firm (Istanbul, Turkey)
15:00 – 15:20 – Q&A session
- Moderator: Patrizia Sangalli - FCIArb, SNG & Partners
15:20 – 15:30 – Closing remarks, summarizing expert insights
- Dmitry Davydenko, Associate Professor of Private International and Civil Law Department at MGIMO-University, Director and Editor at CIS Arbitration Forum, a specialised online journal and thinktank
