This article is purposed to introduce an upcoming research starting in September, 2013 on a complex issue arising in the theory and practice of modern investor-state arbitration. To this end, readers are encouraged to treat this research summary as interactive and to contact the author with...

The article focuses on the role of the NGOs in the dispute settlement process of the WTO. It argues that NGOs participation is underpinned by the emerging norm of participatory democracy. Given the growing expectations about WTO's accountability, transparency and democratic legitimacy, the NGOs...

As the presence of SWFs in the global economy grows so does their involvement in international disputes. SWFs as SOEs involved in commercial activities present a particular set of challenges for regulators, adjudicators and legal practitioners. Although corporate structuring of SWFs differs,...

I propose a framework within which to interpret and evaluate the major reforms introduced to the GATT system in its transition to the WTO. In particular, I examine the WTO Agreement on Safeguards that has replaced the GATT escape clause (Article XIX), and the Dispute Settlement Process (DSP)...

Governments have been examining the potential role of joint government interpretations of investment treaties at OECD-hosted intergovernmental investment roundtables. Now well-established in the model BITs and treaty practice of the NAFTA governments, express provisions for such joint...

Many governments have expressed concerns about the uncertainty linked to the perceived inconsistency of treaty interpretation in Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). An OECD-hosted intergovernmental investment roundtable has been considering a range of tools through which governments can...

Arbitrators are lead actors in global dispute resolution. They are to global dispute resolution what judges are to domestic dispute resolution. Despite its global significance, arbitral decision making is a black box. This Article is the first to use original experimental research to explore how...

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) has been hailed as a fundamental aspect of the Multilateral Trading System for developing countries. At the same time developing countries face many challenges to ensure their effective participation in the mechanism. This paper presents statistical...

This article explores the still-controversial role of arbitrators in settlement facilitation and whether the professional guidelines put forward supposedly to assist arbitrators in this role take into account the psychological factors at play. Do “best practice” guidelines address the...