Upcoming Webinars

Herbert Smith Freehills' global arbitration practice continues its webinar series in July with two live audio seminars delivered to your desktop.

• What value your BIT protection now? - withdrawals, annulments and refusal to enforce, 4 July 2013

This is the second in our current series focusing on Bilateral Investment Treaties and following on from our successful introductory seminar ‘A Beginner’s Guide to BITs: What are they and why do you need them?’ in April.

In this webinar, we will consider what the impact of the backlash against investment arbitration has been and how it will affect investors in the years to come. What does it mean for the Bilateral Investment Treaty protection that many have come to rely on when structuring an investment or venturing into a new market?

• Enforcing arbitration awards on the fringes of EMEA, 12 July 2013

The focus of this webinar will be on local advice in relation to enforcement in each of the regions encompassed within EMEA, namely Europe, the Middle East and Africa, using the experience and insight of our partners who cover these regions.

For more information about each of these webinars and to register, please click on the link below.

What value your BIT protection now? - withdrawals, annulments and refusal to enforce

Thursday 4 July 2013, 9.00-10.00am UK time

The last few years have seen a marked backlash against investment arbitration from many stakeholders, notably emerging economy States and Non-Governmental Organisations. In particular, there have been a number of withdrawals from the ICSID Convention and a number of States who have terminated their Bilateral Investment Treaties or changed their policy towards the protection of foreign investment. Of those States who remain within the system, there have been numerous instances where States have failed to honour awards made against them.

In this webinar, we will focus in particular on:

• the impact of withdrawal from ICSID on existing disputes and on the value of existing BITS containing an offer to arbitrate at ICSID
• the impact of withdrawal from BITs and the effect of any 'sunset provisions'
• recent use of the ICSID annulment process - limited review or wholesale appeal?
• enforcement under the ICSID Convention - a toothless process?

The speakers will be:

• Matthew Weiniger (Chair)
• Christian Leathley
• Leon Chung
• Iain Maxwell

Enforcing arbitration awards on the fringes of EMEA

Friday 12 July 2013, 1.00pm - 2.00pm UK time

As more and more investment is made into the emerging markets of Africa, the Middle East and emerging Europe, enforcement in those jurisdictions is increasingly an issue of central importance. Clearly when selecting a dispute resolution procedure, be it litigation, arbitration or a combination of the two, the ability to enforce a resulting court judgment or arbitral award will be of primary concern.

In this webinar, we will look specifically at the way in which different and overlapping enforcement regimes apply in different jurisdictions within EMEA, but particularly in those less predictable legal regimes encompassed within that region. In many cases, where coverage of treaties providing for reciprocal recognition of judgments is limited, arbitration will be the dispute resolution mechanism of choice, given the wide application of the New York Convention (NYC).

As such, we will look at how the NYC operates both on a theoretical and, more particularly, on a practical level. Signatory states can differ enormously in how they interpret grounds for refusal under the NYC and as regards the steps that need to be taken to enforce foreign awards. It is crucial to be aware of these differences on the ground.

The speakers will be:

• Paula Hodges
• Nick Peacock (Chair)
• Craig Tevendale
• Vladimir Melnikov

To register for either of these webinars please contact Prudence Heidemans.

The webinar will be recorded. If you are unable to listen to the event on the day please still register and then you will be able to access the recorded version later.

Please click here for further details about previous and other upcoming events.