Professor Federico Ortino: "The development of international investment law by arbitral tribunals over the last 25 years and the strange case of the 'fair and equitable treatment' standard"

The Dickson Poon School of Law is proud to present our Inaugural Lecture Series. Inaugural Lectures are a celebration of our Professors, as they present an overview of their contribution to their field, as well as highlight its latest developments. The lecture is open to both members of the university community and the wider public, and is followed by a reception in the Great Hall.

"The development of international investment law by arbitral tribunals over the last 25 years and the strange case of the 'fair and equitable treatment' standard"

Investment treaty arbitration (or investor-State dispute settlement, ISDS) has developed in the last 25 years into a powerful and controversial tool in international law that allows foreign investors to pursue claims directly against host States when the latter behave in violation of certain standards found in international investment treaties. While arbitral tribunals have over the years tempered many of the broad interpretations of investment treaty protections adopted in early arbitral decisions, there is one very notable exception: the 'fair and equitable treatment' (FET) standard has not witnessed a similar evolution. This lecture examines the 'strange case' of the FET standard, and attempts to explain this evolution and its implications.

Federico Ortino is Professor of International Economic Law, and Co- Director of Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution (CIGAD) at The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. He is a member of the ILA Committee on the Rule of Law and International Investment Law; consultative member of the Investment Treaty Forum; one of the general editors of the International Trade and Investment Law Series with Hart Publishing; editorial/advisory board member of the Journal of International Economic Law, Journal of International Dispute Settlement and Journal of World Investment and Trade. He has written extensively on both world trade law and international investment law. Among his recent books The Origin and Evolution of Investment Treaty Standards: Stability, Value and Reasonableness (OUP, 2019) and The Oxford Handbook on International Arbitration (OUP, 2020, co-edited with Thomas Schultz). He has been involved as expert in projects with UNCTAD, ITC, OECD, IISD and WEF. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Stockholm, Catolica Lisbon, University of Verona, University of Barcelona, New York University, and the University of Sydney. He is a Consultant to Clifford Chance advising governments and private companies on international trade law matters.

Previously, he was founding Committee Member (and former co-Treasurer) of the Society of International Economic Law; co-rapporteur to the ILA Committee on the Law of Foreign Investment; Director, Investment Treaty Forum, British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London; Legal Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Division on Investment and Enterprises. He is a qualified attorney in Italy and in the state of New York. He holds: LLB, University of Florence; LLM, Georgetown University Law Center; PhD, European University Institute.