“INTERNATIONAL LAW ASSOCIATION REGIONAL CONFERENCE 2014” Lisbon University Law School, 11/12 September 2014 Odysseas Repousis’s Abstract Submission I. Title of the paper -Title: ‘Perspectives on Jurisdictional Overlaps in the Enforcement of Awards and Decisions against Sovereigns’ II. The author’s name and affiliation Odysseas Repousis Research Assistant (HKU) PhD cand. (HKU) LLM in Arb&DR (Dist. - HKU) LLB (Hon. - UOA) III. Abstract This paper explores some perspectives on the jurisdictional overlaps that may occur in the stage of the enforcement of awards (commercial or investment) and national court decisions against sovereigns. In particular, these overlaps may be between international courts and tribunals, between the latter and national courts or between national courts. This paper provides an overview of these three cases, although it mainly focuses on the second case, that of the potential overlaps between proceedings in international courts or tribunals and national court proceedings. In order to better address the topic of this paper, the relevant analysis rests on four perspectives. The first perspective provides a brief overview of the reasons that may create jurisdictional overlaps at the stage of the enforcement of awards (commercial or investment) and national court decisions against sovereigns. In this regard, particular reference is also made to investment awards. Then, the second perspective examines a specific case where an overlap between national court proceedings and proceedings in an international court occurred. More specifically, this second perspective focuses on the arrest of the Argentinian training vessel “ARA Libertad” in Ghana and the 1 respective proceedings brought by Argentina against Ghana in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The third perspective, turns to another case that has arisen and indicates how the enforcement of obligations against sovereigns can even end up in Human Right Bodies. In particular, this third perspective focuses on a recent case initiated against Argentinian assets secured in the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Switzerland that is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). To be clear, this case is not a clear cut example of overlapping proceedings in national and international courts, since human rights bodies in principle step in after the exhaustion of local remedies. However, the case discussed in the third perspective and especially the proceedings in the ECtHR should be examined in parallel with other proceedings in national jurisdictions that did not end up in human rights bodies. Finally, the fourth perspective sheds light on the potential overlaps that may occur between state-state dispute settlement proceedings and national court proceedings advanced by investors. In particular, this perspective examines the boundaries between the jurisdictional competence of national courts to enforce investment awards and the potential powers that state-state investment arbitral tribunals have in the enforcement of such awards. Finally, this paper concludes by summarizing its findings and by briefly indicating other cases of overlaps that have been witnessed such as the enforcement of international commercial arbitration awards through investor-state tribunals. IV. Author’s short CV A. Short Bio Odysseas Repousis is a Research Assistant and a PhD candidate at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Prior to his current position he clerked in the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, worked as an attorney in Greece and was a Research Fellow at the Hellenic Institute of Procedural Studies where he conducted research on Bilateral Investment Treaties. He holds an LLB with high honours from the University of Athens and an LLM in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution with Distinction from HKU. His current research focus centres on international commercial and investment arbitration and on disputes in the energy sector. He is fluent in Greek, English, French and Arabic and has working knowledge of German and Spanish. His latest works include among others a book chapter on Investment Arbitration in the Nuclear Energy Sector and an article on the potential overlaps between Investment Treaties in the area of the ECT. B. Articles 2 1. “The Bilateral Investment Treaties of the Hellenic Republic: The investor-State arbitration clause” (in Greek), Greek Civil Procedure Review (forthcoming in late 2014) {pages 54} 2. “Overlapping Investment Treaties for Energy and Environmental Disputes in the Energy Charter Treaty Area”, World Arbitration and Mediation Review (forthcoming in 2014) {pages 25} 3. “Intertemporality and International Investment Arbitration: Protecting the Jurisdiction of Established Tribunals”, co-authored with James D. Fry, Melbourne Journal of International Law (under consideration 2014) {pages 40} 4. “Investment Treaties as a Pattern of Dominance: Antagonistic Insights form Africa?”, African Journal of International and Comparative Law (under consideration) {pages 20} C. Book Chapters 1. ‘Investment Arbitration in the Nuclear Energy Sector: Environmental Protection versus Investor Protection’, co-authored with James D. Fry, in Ige Dekker and Martijn Scheltema (eds.), Bridging the Gap between International Investment Law and the Environment (Eleven International Publishing: forthcoming 2014). {pages 30} D. Conference Papers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. “The investor-State arbitration clause of the Greek BITs” paper delivered at the Symposium on “Arbitral Resolution of Investment disputes” organized by the Ministry of Development of Greece, the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Athens and the Hellenic Institute of Procedural Studies, Athens, Greece, January 16, 2013. “Stripping the Jurisdiction from Established Investment Arbitral Tribunals” paper delivered at the ILA 2013 Regional Conference in Cape Sounio, Greece, August 30, 2013. (co-presentation with Dr. James D. Fry). “China’s FTAs and corresponding BITs: Parallel, overlapping or dissimilar investor protection regimes?” paper delivered at the Student Workshop on Research in International Law of the 4th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law, New Delhi, India, November 13, 2013. “Investment treaties as a pattern of dominance: Another pitfall for the African States?”, paper delivered at the Young Scholars Workshop on International Law, XI Edition, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento, Italy, Dec 6, 2013 (written intervention). “Overlapping investor-State Arbitration Clauses for Energy and Environmental Disputes in the Energy Charter Treaty Area”, paper delivered at the ITA-IEL Joint Winter Forum on ‘International Energy Arbitration’ held in conjunction with the 65th Annual Oil & Gas Law Conference of the IEL of the Centre of American and International Law, Houston, Texas, Feb 21, 2014. “State-owned enterprises as investors in the nuclear energy industry: ICSID and non ICSID Considerations”, paper delivered at the SIEL 3rd Conference of the Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network, São Paulo, Brazil, April 24-25, 2014. “Regionalism in International Investment Law and the Combating Forces of Parallelity and Codification”, paper to be delivered at the 4th Biennial Global Conference of the SIEL, Bern, Switzerland, July 10-12, 2014. “New Paradigms and Remnants of the Past: Assessing co-existence over unity”, paper to be delivered at the 2014 Workshop of the ESIL International Economic Law Interest Group, Vienna, Austria, September 3, 2014. 3 V. 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