E-Newsletter
E-Newsletter – Spring 2023
Recent months have continued to see major new developments in public international law. Below, Volterra Fietta highlights a number of key developments in international environmental law and the laws of trade and foreign investment protection. Volterra Fietta continues to be actively engaged in many of these developments on behalf of our clients around the world.
Iraq and Nigeria join the 1992 UN Water Convention, bringing its total number of Member States to 49
Intensifying water stress has promoted increasing engagement with the 1992 UN Water Convention, including recent accessions by Nigeria and Iraq. Around the world, some 153 States share transboundary water resources, accounting for some 60 per cent of worldwide freshwater flows. These shared resources have come under increasing pressure as a result of industrialisation, modern agricultural techniques and population growth – at a time when climate change and pollution have also exacerbated water scarcity.
Latest developments in biodiversity protection: the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
In December 2022, 188 States from around the world reached agreement on the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Framework affirms the importance of biodiversity to human well-being and economic prosperity, playing a vital role as a source of food, medicine, energy, clean air and water and security from natural disasters.
The United Kingdom is set to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. This follows the substantial conclusion on 31 March 2023 of nearly two years’ negotiations. It would become the first new country to accede to the CPTPP since it was established in 2018.
Recent and upcoming firm events
On 13 February 2023, Robert Volterra spoke at the Third World Conference of the Association of Borderland Studies at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. The topic of his presentation was “The Uninterrupted Imperative of Boundaries and Title to Territory in the Age of the ‘Metaverse’”.
On 14 February 2023, Robert Volterra and Gunjan Sharma presented the topic “Global Deals Gone Wrong: Dispute Resolution Fundamentals” to students and fellow practitioners at the Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
On 16 February 2023, Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at the University of Sydney’s Centre for International Law on the legal status of natural resources in occupied territory.
On 1 March 2023, Ahmed Abdel-Hakam gave a lecture to the LLM students of Durham Law Faculty on “Evidence in International Commercial Arbitration”.
On 15 March 2023, Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke in Riyadh about the recent developments in the arbitration market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of a conference organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia.
On 17 March 2023, Angela Ha delivered a guest lecture at the University of Southampton Law School. The topic of her lecture was “Solving or creating chaos? Stays of action and anti-suit injunctions”.
On 21 March 2023, Robert Volterra spoke at a seminar organised by the Qatar branch of CIArb on “Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Middle East and the OIC Investment Agreement”.
On 27 March 2023, Peter Flint spoke at the Mining Journal Select London conference on protecting cross-border mining investments through bilateral and multilateral treaties.
On 28 March 2023, Robert Volterra and Magdalena Kowalczuk Asher spoke to Kings College London students on evidence before international courts and tribunals.
On 31 March 2023, Angela Ha spoke at a panel on climate change and migration at the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, DC.
On 2 April 2023, Robert Volterra spoke at the 12th Annual Cambridge International Law Conference.
On 4 April 2023, Robert Volterra delivered a lecture to the LLM and PhD Programmes of DEHUKAM, the Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law, on dispute resolution under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
On 5 April 2023, Gunjan Sharma presented the topic “Investment Treaty Claims by Bondholders and Shareholders when a Bank Collapses” to numerous regulators and private banks as part of Volterra Fietta’s continuing seminar series. The seminar was moderated by Angela Ha.
On 12 April 2023, Florentine Vos spoke to Amsterdam University College students on the DRC v Uganda ICJ case.
On 17 April 2023, Robert Volterra spoke at a roundtable discussion on regulating investor conduct hosted by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
On 18 April 2023, Angela Ha spoke at a practical masterclass on networking and business generation organised by the International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitration and ADR Forum in London.
On 10 May 2023, Ahmed Abdel-Hakam moderated a panel on “Investment Protection in the Event of Armed Conflict: What Protections, for Which Investments and on Whose Territory?”, as part of the ICSID-ADGM Annual Joint Conference on “Investment Protection and Armed Conflict”.
On 10 May 2023, Gunjan Sharma and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam gave a bespoke training to over sixty representatives of 21 major international organisations on “Recent Trends in the Privileges and Immunities of International Organisations: Preparing for the Next Generation of IO Activities”. The training was moderated by Magdalena Kowalczuk Asher.
On 18 May 2023, at the invitation of the UK Ministry of Justice, Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at and co-chaired a roundtable on “Disputes Emanating from Africa” as part of the 2023 edition of the London International Disputes Week.
On 24 May 2023, Gunjan Sharma spoke at a seminar on “Challenges in Space ahead of the ITU’s World Radio Conference 2023”, as part of Volterra Fietta’s continuing seminar series. The seminar was moderated by Maanya Tandon.
On 1 June 2023, Robert Volterra moderated and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at a seminar on “Mining Disputes between Investors and States”. The seminar, hosted at Volterra Fietta’s offices, was co-organised with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
In the coming months, Volterra Fietta plans to offer seminars on the following topics:
- Initiating a case before the International Court of Justice
- Provisional measures at the International Court of Justice
- The International Law Implications of Vision2030
If you would like to be added to Volterra Fietta’s invitation list for future events, please email your name and affiliation to info@volterrafietta.com.