Is investor-State arbitration dominated by rent-seeking mafia or are you a Nazi for suggesting so? Both public and academic narratives surrounding this field, critical or supportive, sometimes use descriptions and accusations that, to put it mildly, sound rather partisan. But even somewhere in the more nuanced middle, analysis is often prone to over-generalization, deduction from anecdotes and outliers, or rather inconspicuous protection of vested (legal) business interests. In this talk I aim to shed some light on these narratives and their underlying dynamics, as well as to offer some thoughts as to what their clash might mean for the ongoing reform of international investment regime.

This LEGU guest talk will be delivered by Dr Velimir Zivkovic, Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick. Velimir's work focuses on the interplay of international investment law and other areas of international and national law, as well as rule of law issues affecting these areas. He explores these topics by considering both the more traditional, doctrinal insights and critical legal studies. The focus is often on arguing whether and how the existing legal structures – in addition to being rightfully criticized and/or reformed – can also be used as a force for good in their present state.