Monday, January 23, 2017

Workshop: Oceans and Space: New Frontiers in Investment Protection?

On March 10-11, 2017, Rainer Hofmann (Univ. of Frankfurt), Stephan W. Schill (Univ. of Amsterdam), and Christian J. Tams (Univ. of Glasgow) will again convene the Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop. The topic is: "Oceans and Space: New Frontiers in Investment Protection?" The program is here. Here's the idea:

Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop 2017: Oceans and Space: New Frontiers in Investment Protection? (10-11 March 2017)

For many years, the Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop – jointly organized by Rainer Hofmann (Frankfurt), Stephan W. Schill (Amsterdam), and Christian J. Tams (Glasgow) – has been a forum for the discussion of foundational issues of international investment law.

With activities ranging from energy production at sea via deep seabed mining to space mining, spacefaring and space tourism, areas beyond territorial sovereignty increasingly attract foreign investment. These investments raise questions that go to the core of investment law, but have so far hardly been explored, such as: How are commercial activities on the oceans or in space protected against political risk? What law, if any, protects them, and how does it balance commercial interests against regulatory concerns, including the environmental protection, national security, and the common heritage of mankind? How can disputes be settled in an effective and balanced manner?

The 2017 Frankfurt Investment Law Workshop will offer a systematic analysis of these issues by inquiring into traditional sources of investment protection, such as investment treaties, contractual arrangements, and domestic laws, and by addressing the interaction of the law of the sea, space law and international investment law. The Workshop will bring together academics and practitioners and provide them with a forum for open and frank exchanges. The Workshop program is available here; for edited collections that have grown out of earlier Frankfurt Investment Law Workshops see here, here, here and here.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Sabine Schimpf, Merton Centre for European Integration and International Economic Order, University of Frankfurt, E-Mail: S.Schimpf@jur.uni-frankfurt.de by 28 February 2017.