Our second Plenary Panel turned to a central question in investment treaty law: where should the boundaries lie between state-led interpretation and arbitral discretion?
The discussion explored the scope and legal force of authentic interpretations and joint interpretative instruments, the leeway available to arbitral tribunals when interpreting ambiguous treaty language, and the limits of tribunal discretion in light of treaty text, good faith, object and purpose, and state intent. The panel also considered the role of subsequent state practice and unilateral declarations in shaping treaty meaning, alongside case studies highlighting the tensions that can arise between states’ expectations and arbitral outcomes.
The panel was convened by Dr. Ursula Kriebaum, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Vienna, and featured Andrea Bjorklund, Full Professor and L. Yves Fortier Chair in International Arbitration and International Commercial Law at McGill University; Tomoko Ishikawa, Professor of International Law at Nagoya University; Ndanga Kamau, independent arbitrator based in France and former Vice President of the ICC Court; and Romesh Weeramantry, Special Counsel at Clifford Chance and Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
