19/09/2023
Australian Arbitration Week 2023
As part of Australian Arbitration Week 2023 (8-13 October), Twenty Essex hosted two events on 10 October 2023.
Immunity and justiciability in international arbitration: the limits of inquiry into State conduct
The first was a webinar at 9:00 BST, 16:00 AWT, on immunity and justiciability in international arbitration.
Andrew Fulton KC, Professor Philippa Webb, and Mark Tushingham examined the issues and future directions of the interrelated doctrine of State immunity and foreign act of State in the context of international arbitration.
These doctrines establish recognised limits on the scope of inquiry by domestic courts or tribunals into the conduct of foreign States. The first doctrine is founded in international law whereas the second is a creature of the common law.
Both doctrines have been extensively considered in recent decisions of the highest courts in Australia and the UK (See e.g. Kingdom of Spain v Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.à.r.l. [2023] HCA 11; Maduro Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela v Guaido Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela [2021] UKSC 57.) Yet the application of both doctrines in international arbitrations remains uncertain, especially where there are potentially different applicable laws and where a State may have waived its immunity.
See the full webinar below:
Climate issues at the intersection of law and politics
The second was an in-person panel session co-hosted with Allen & Overy, on climate issues at the intersection of law and politics.
Jonathon Redwood SC, Daniel Kalderimis (Twenty Essex) Karina Travaglione, David Jenaway (Allen & Overy) and Suzanne Spears (Paxus LLP) examined how law and politics increasingly overlap in global and domestic efforts to coherently address the defining 21st century issue of climate change.
The panel discussed different aspects of the evolving political, regulatory and legal landscape, especially as it pertains to dispute resolution lawyers. Specific topics included:
- Update on the international legal framework – Paris Agreement and COP 28 Dubai
- The scale of mitigation and adaptation needed, the political response, and the nature of ensuing disputes
- The role for international arbitration, both commercial and investment
- The convergence – case examples of climate related disputes already in international arbitration
- Domestic courts and climate change – cases against states and private actors, and the implications for international arbitration
