Monday\, March 23 2026\, 3:45-5:15\; WCC 1 023.
This session will feature Prof. Philippe Sands.
The invest or-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime is often criticized for structura lly favoring foreign investors\, offering them direct avenues to challenge state regulations while providing few formal mechanisms for affected commun ities to participate. Scholars have also raised concerns about regulatory i nstitutions 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 gr ievances and assert their concerns. Drawing on cases such as Bear Creek v. Peru and Urbaser v. Argentina\, we will explore efforts b y dissenting arbitrators to articulate obligations on investors to consult local communities and address their grievances.
Philippe Sand s is Professor of Law at the University of London and Samuel Pisar Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A preeminent internationa l human rights lawyer\, he has regularly appeared before the International Court of Justice\, the International Criminal Court\, and the Court of Just ice of the European Union. Sands represented Croatia in its case against Se rbia\, served on the legal team aiming to hold the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet accountable\, and litigated cases arising from the former Yugosla via. More recently\, he acted as lead counsel in the successful campaign to secure the return of the Chagos Islands from Britain to Mauritius and argu ed for Palestinian self-determination in a case before the ICJ. As an arbit rator\, he authored a landmark dissenting opinion addressing obligations to ward local communities in international investment arbitration.
LOCATION:WCC 1023 GEO:0.000000;0.000000 ORGANIZER;CN="Kathryn Rose Weaver":MAILTO:kweaver@law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/byse-workshop-local-communitie s-in-the-international-investment-regime/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20260308T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR