Byse Workshop: Local Communities in the International Investment Regime

Monday, March 23 2026, 3:45-5:15; WCC 1023.

This session will feature Prof. Philippe Sands.

The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime is often criticized for structurally favoring foreign investors, offering them direct avenues to challenge state regulations while providing few formal mechanisms for affected communities to participate. Scholars have also raised concerns about regulatory institutions being captured by national elites whose interests largely align with those of investors. In this session, we will examine what channels – if any – exist for communities impacted by extractive projects to voice grievances and assert their concerns. Drawing on cases such as Bear Creek v. Peru and Urbaser v. Argentina, we will explore efforts by dissenting arbitrators to articulate obligations on investors to consult local communities and address their grievances.

Philippe Sands is Professor of Law at the University of London and Samuel Pisar Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A preeminent international human rights lawyer, he has regularly appeared before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the Court of Justice of the European Union. Sands represented Croatia in its case against Serbia, served on the legal team aiming to hold the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet accountable, and litigated cases arising from the former Yugoslavia. More recently, he acted as lead counsel in the successful campaign to secure the return of the Chagos Islands from Britain to Mauritius and argued for Palestinian self-determination in a case before the ICJ. As an arbitrator, he authored a landmark dissenting opinion addressing obligations toward local communities in international investment arbitration.