Weekly Research Seminar Series - Government Trade-Offs - When old BITs Come Back to Bite

  • Wednesday, 6 April 2022
  • 4:00 PM GST

This week, we are delighted to have our colleague Ms. Yasmin Sebah for our Wednesday research seminar. She will present her research on 'Government Trade-Offs - When old BITs Come Back to Bite'. Please note that the research seminar will be held from 2.00pm to 2.45pm this week. Also, this will be the final research seminar for this term. Please do join if you are not teaching during that time. 

   

Wednesday Research Seminar Series       

We are pleased to invite you to our Wednesday Research Seminar. It will be held online on 6th April from 2pm via Microsoft team platform.

Wednesday Research Seminar Series was launched in 2008 and has featured more than 310 presentations to date. The seminars provide a forum for researchers to share their work. Presenters include faculty from Middlesex University Dubai and other universities in the United Arab Emirates, as well as researchers from other global institutions. Ms. Yasmin will deliver seminar on:           

“Government Trade-Offs - When old BITs Come Back to Bite"  

Yasmin Sebah

Abstract       

As environmental concerns have moved up societies’ priority lists, global initiatives to combat climate change actions such as the 2015 COP 21 and the signature of the Paris Agreement are evidence a shift in global mind-set. Climate change has been described as an ‘existential crises’ by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the World Summit in Vienna, 2018,  which has seen States prioritise investments in clean, green infrastructure. To fulfil these obligations, governments commonly sign international investment agreement to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and support development in structural economic change, new forms of energy production, transport, manufacturing and resource extraction. Whilst these investment agreements should provide legal stability and predictability to foreign investors, they have often resulted in restraining regulatory powers to pursue legitimate public interest measures. The issue of balancing investor protection on the one hand and the right to regulate on the other, has become more critical at a time where governments are recognising the importance of sustainable development and are adopting varying policy responses to promote environmental protection. Also, as public interest in treaties and their impact on regulation has grown, parliaments have become more active in influencing the balance.   Recent cases have ignited the debate as to whether existing investment laws can provide protection for safeguarding the rights of the foreign investor whilst allowing host States adequate policy space to implement new environmental regulations enabling them to meet domestic and international sustainable objectives.

Biography

Ms. Yasmin Sebah is a senior lecture in Law at Middlesex University Dubai. She specialises in cross-border commercial disputes, international arbitration, and trade policy negotiation. She is a qualified mediator and is often invited as an expert to deliver conflict resolution training and advise on regional policy frameworks in peacebuilding and processes. Yasmin holds an LLB and Masters in International and Comparative Dispute Resolution. She completed her Legal Practice Course at the College of Law (London, UK) and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). Yasmin has represented various governments in international arbitration under the hospices of ICSID (World Bank Group) and the Permanent court of Arbitration in the Hague. She is currently pursuing her PhD programme on investment treaty arbitration and its wider impact to sustainable development goals.

Look forward to seeing you at the seminar!   

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