E-Newsletter: Summer 2024 | Volterra Fietta

In the recent months, there have been a number of significant developments in international law.

On 22 March 2024, Barbados submitted a written statement to the International Court of Justice (“ICJ“) providing its observations on the relevant legal and factual issues in the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change Case. In this case, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution co-sponsored by Barbados requesting that the ICJ give an advisory opinion on the obligations of States under international law in respect of climate change. For many years, long-time Volterra Fietta client Barbados has been at the forefront of global efforts amongst like-minded States to progress the climate change agenda on the world stage.

On 25 June 2024, 26 member states of the European Union (“EU”) signed an inter se declaration clarifying that the investor-state arbitration provisions set out in the Energy Charter Treaty are not applicable within the EU. The Declaration complements an identical inter se agreement initialled by the same 26 member States.

On 19 July 2024, the ICJ rendered its advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In its advisory opinion, the ICJ declared that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful. Volterra Fietta reported on the ICJ’s advisory opinion here.

Below, this edition of the Volterra Fietta Newsletter also highlights key recent developments in the areas of trade, energy, global health, environmental law and space law.

Volterra Fietta continues to be actively engaged in many of these developments on behalf of our government and private clients around the world.

CARICOM and the African Union take another step towards a Free Trade Agreement

On 13 June 2024, CARICOM signed a MoU with the African Union (“AU“), marking a significant step in achieving a Free Trade Agreement between the two regional trading blocs. While trade has been notably low between the two groups, this new development includes initiatives that demonstrate a genuine intention between various member States of CARICOM and the AU to initiate trading relations.

European Union set to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, citing EU deadlock on proposed climate change reforms

On 30 May 2024, the European Council adopted decisions enabling the European Union to denounce the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT“). In adopting these decisions, the European Council cited concerns about deadlocks over efforts to bring the ECT into alignment with the sustainable development and climate change goals.

The Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Accord: Progress and Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in the global health system, leading to the World Health Organization to draft an international treaty to prevent and adequately respond to future pandemics. However, despite ongoing negotiations, reaching a consensus remains pending due to differing priorities and expectations between countries

Five States join calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining at the 29^th Session of the International Seabed Authority

During the 29th annual session of the International Seabed Authority (“ISA“), Malta, Tuvalu, Honduras, Guatemala and Austria declared their support for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining. To date, now over thirty States have called for a halt in the exploitation of the deep seabed minerals as the ISA struggles to adopt a final set of regulations on mining exploitation.

European Commission set to adopt first European Space Law

The European Commission is set to adopt the first European space law in light of the 21^st century ‘space race’. With countries such as Germany, France and Russia having their own set of national space laws, Brussels is attempting to provide a common EU intergovernmental legal framework in aims of getting closer to a unified market.

Recent and upcoming firm events

Recent:

On 29 May 2024, Partners Robert Volterra and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at the Turkish Contractors Association in Ankara on Egyptian-Turkish contractor association cooperation agreements.
On 30 May 2024, Partners Robert Volterra and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam delivered a seminar on litigating maritime boundary disputes at Ankara University’s National Centre for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM).
On 4 June 2024, Partners Robert Volterra, alongside Associates Ben Burnham and Magdalena Kowalczuk Asher, hosted a confidential in-person briefing on State immunity in English courts.
On 5 June 2024, Partners Gunjan Sharma and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam, alongside Associate Ben Burnham, hosted a virtual seminar entitled “Cross Border US-UK-EU Litigations: Effectively Managing Complex, High-Value Transatlantic Disputes”.
On 6 June 2024, Partners Peter Flint and Associate Ben Burnham hosted a virtual seminar entitled “Privilege in international arbitration”.
On 27 June 2024, Partners Robert Volterra and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at Leiden University’s Conference on Counterclaims in International Law.
On 28-30 June 2024, Partner Robert Volterra spoke on practical strategic and tactical litigation issues State-to-State litigation and arbitration, at the University of West Indies’ 10th Annual MonaLaw Symposium in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
On 1 and 2 July 2024, Partners Peter Flint and Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at the Mining Journal Select conference in London as the event’s official Legal Partner. Read the post event report here.
On 4 July 2024, Counsel Angela Ha spoke on issues of investment protection at the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law’s 31st Annual Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
On 12 July 2024, Associate Ramalingam Vallinayagam spoke at a panel discussion on “Investor-State Disputes and the Enforcement of Awards against Sovereign States” organised by School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India as part of the Bangalore Dispute Resolution Conclave.
On 16-17 July 2024, Partner Ahmed Abdel-Hakam spoke at the Egypt Mining Forum for a discussion about critical minerals and legal risk.

Volterra Fietta and its lawyers will be engaged in the following events in the coming months:

On 10-11 September 2024, Partner Ahmed Abdel-Hakam will speak at the International Society of Military Sciences Annual Conference 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden.
On 1-2 October 2024, Partner Ahmed Abdel-Hakam will speak at the Istanbul Arbitration Week (ISTAW) conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
On 14 October 2024, Partner Robert Volterra will speak on the panel “Boundary Disputes: Legal, Commercial & Geopolitical Issues” at the AEIN/ICDR conference Dispute Resolution in the International Energy Business in Houston, USA.
On 30 October – 1 November 2024, Partner Ahmed Abdel-Hakam will speak at the CPR Africa Arbitration Day conference in New York City, USA.
On 22 November 2024, Partner Ahmed Abdel-Hakam will speak at the Dublin International Arbitration Day conference in Dublin, Ireland.

In the coming months, Volterra Fietta plans to offer seminars on the following topics:

English court litigation for Middle Eastern parties
The latest developments in telecommunication arbitration
Using BITs to protect mining investments
Deep sea-bed mining: What’s happening now and what lies ahead?
Private equity and international arbitration

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.