Hot Topics in Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia

In recent years, international investment law and the investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) system have arguably reached their melting point, with an increasing number of participants having diverging interests and perspectives. Many of these issues have come to the surface through the discussions ongoing at UNCITRAL Working Group III. In this context, the experiences of the five Central Asian States – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – present a unique and rich, yet often overlooked, case study for emerging issues in this field. The region is home to progressively developing domestic laws on foreign investment, an increasing number of international investment agreements and its States have been involved in ISDS proceedings which have broadly impacted the ISDS landscape and related areas of law. In an environment with greater opportunity for reflection and innovation, can the experiences of the Central Asian States offer a solution to what is commonly referred to as the ‘ISDS legitimacy crisis’?

This event explores these themes and propositions by drawing upon ideas elaborated in the recently published book, International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues, edited by GW Law Professor Kiran Nasir Gore, Elijah Putilin, Kabir A.N. Duggal, & Crina Baltag (Wolters Kluwer, 2023). 

Lunch will be served. 

The promo code 20ILI2023 offers a 20% discount on the retail price of International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues in the Wolters Kluwer eStore. The code is valid through October 31, 2023.

Speakers

Stanimir Alexandrov

Professorial Lecturer in Law, The George Washington University Law School and Independent Arbitrator, Stanimir A. Alexandrov PLLC

Stanimir Alexandrov has acted as counsel and sat as an arbitrator in over 100 arbitration cases. He has taught at GW Law for over 25 years.

To read his full bio, click here.

David Attanasio

Counsel, Dechert LLP

David Attanasio is Counsel in the International Arbitration Group at Dechert LLP where his practice focuses on commercial arbitration, investor-State arbitration, and international litigation. In addition to this work, Dr. Attanasio writes extensively on international arbitration, recently co-authoring a book entitled International Investment Protection of Global Banking and Finance: Legal Principles and Arbitral Practice.

James H. Boykin

Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed

James H. Boykin is Co-Chair of Hughes Hubbard & Reed's Arbitration practice group in the Washington, DC office. His practice focuses on international arbitration and includes state-to-state and investor-state arbitration, as well as commercial disputes.

Rosa Celorio

Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies and Burnett Family Distinguished Professorial Lecturer in International and Comparative Law and Policy, The George Washington University Law School

Rosa Celorio is the Burnett Family Associate Dean and Professorial Lecturer for International and Comparative Legal Studies. In this capacity, she directs the International and Comparative Law Program at GW Law, and teaches the courses International Human Rights of Women, Regional Protection of Human Rights, and Fundamental Issues in US Law. Previously, she worked for more than a decade as Senior Attorney for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), one of the main organs of the regional human rights protection system for the Americas, where she held several leadership positions, including the supervision of all the legal work performed by the specialized Rapporteurships on women, LGBTI persons, indigenous peoples, racial discrimination, and children.

To read her full bio, click here.

Henry Defriez

Senior Associate, Dechert LLP

Henry Defriez is a Senior Associate in the International Arbitration group at Dechert LLP, focusing his practice on both commercial and investor-state matters. Now based in Washington, DC, Defriez previously spent five years in the firm's Singapore office.

Kiran Nasir Gore

Professorial Lecturer in Law, The George Washington University Law School and Independent Counsel & Arbitrator, Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC

Kiran Nasir Gore is an arbitrator, dispute-resolution consultant, and counsel with nearly fifteen years of experience advising governments, corporations, institutions, and individuals on public and private international law, international development, foreign investment strategies, international dispute resolution, and legal investigation and compliance efforts. Kiran draws on her professional experiences as an educator at GW Law and New York University's Global Study Center in Washington, DC.

Elijah Putilin

Independent Arbitrator, Putilin Dispute Management

Elijah Putilin is an independent arbitrator at Putilin Dispute Management. Putilin regularly sits as the Presiding, Sole or Co-Arbitrator in proceedings under various institutional rules conducted according to civil, common, or international law(s). In addition to his practice, Putilin is an Adjunct Professor of International Investment Law and Arbitration at the Tashkent State University of Law and a Member of the SCC Arbitrators' Council.

Diora Ziyaeva

Counsel, Dentons LLP

Diora Ziyaeva, a Counsel at Dentons' New York office, has 14 years of experience representing States and corporate clients in over 30 international investor-state and commercial arbitration proceedings. Licensed in New York and Uzbekistan, the first female from there to graduate from Harvard Law School, she serves as Adjunct Professor on International Law at Cornell and is a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Term Member.