Universität Wien
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030720 KU International Arbitration and Climate Change (2023W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 3 - Rechtswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 12.10. 14:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM62 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
  • Friday 13.10. 14:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM42 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 4.OG
  • Monday 16.10. 14:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM64 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 6.OG
  • Tuesday 17.10. 10:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum SEM44 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 4.OG
  • Thursday 07.12. 15:00 - 19:00 Seminarraum SEM31 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Monday 11.12. 14:00 - 18:00 Seminarraum SEM33 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum, 3.OG
  • Tuesday 12.12. 11:00 - 13:00 Seminarraum SEM51 Schottenbastei 10-16, Juridicum 5.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The course focuses on the interaction between International Arbitration and Climate Change.
The aspect of International Arbitration will deal mainly deal with the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the case-law of the ECT arbitral tribunals, since the ECT is the only investment treaty that covers exclusively investments in the energy sector. The aspect of Climate Change is discussed through the lens of the Paris Agreement and the legislative initiatives that have been adopted in particular by the EU, i.e., the EU Green Deal. The core question is how the competing interests can be reconciled in an effective way.

After this course, student should have gained a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the of the ECT as well as the wider consequences for the EU and its Member States, for non-EU Contracting Parties of the ECT and for investors. Also, students should have gained an understanding and thus be able to reflect on the interaction with the Paris Agreement.

In the last lecture, students will exchange their views in an Oxford-style debate.

Assessment and permitted materials

Will be announced in the first session.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Will be announced in the first session.

Examination topics

Will be announced in the first session.

Reading list

L. Cercel, Climate Change and International Investment Law: What Are the Challenges and Uncertainties? Arbitration practitioners’ reflections at the 8th EFILA Annual Conference, 3 May 2023, https://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2023/05/02/climate-change-and-international-investment-law-what-are-the-challenges-and-uncertainties-arbitration-practitioners-reflections-at-the-8th-efila-annual-conference/

N. Lavranos et al, The meltdown of the ECT: How the ECT was ruined by the EU and its Member States, SchiedsVZ 2023, pp. 38-46.

P. Paschalidis, Intra-EU Application of the Energy Charter Treaty: A Critical Analysis of the CJEU’s Ruling in Republic of Moldova (Komstroy), European Investment Law and Arbitration Review 2022, pp. 1-35.

Hui Helen Pang, The Role of Investor-State Arbitration in Promoting Climate Change Mitigation: From “Shield” to “Sword” Through Renewable Energy Disputes?, AEL 2022/05
Academy of European Law European Society of International Law Paper.
https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/74450/EUI_AEL_2022_05_ESIL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

S. Vasani and N. Allen, No Green without More Green: The Importance of Protecting FDI through International Investment Law to Meet the Climate Change Challenge, European Investment Law and Arbitration Review 2020, pp. 1–39.

C. Verburg and N. Lavranos, Recent Awards in Spanish Renewable Energy Cases and the Potential Consequences of the Achmea Judgment for Intra-EU ECT Arbitrations, European Investment Law and Arbitration Review 2018, pp. 197–222.

The revised draft ECT text (June 2022). https://www.bilaterals.org/IMG/pdf/reformed_ect_text.pdf

J. Topper and K. Wagner, Don’t pull the plug on the Energy Charter Treaty, Why EU Member States should modernise rather than abandon it,16.05.2022. https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/dont-pull-the-plug-on-the-energy-charter-treaty/

A. Daszko, No Longer Feeling the Energy - Unpacking Poland’s reasoning behind its decision to withdraw from the ECT, 9.9.2022. https://verfassungsblog.de/not-feeling-the-energy-anymore/

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 25.09.2023 07:46