Strengthening State Capacity in Investor-State Arbitration: Training, Rapid Support, and Global Reform Initiatives

Presentation

Investor–State arbitration continues to pose significant legal, financial and institutional challenges for States, particularly in developing and fragile contexts. On the African continent, a significant share of investor–State disputes arise from long-term and capital-intensive sectors, notably extractives, where regulatory change, resource nationalism, contractual complexity, and heightened social and environmental sensitivities frequently lead to disputes.
Beyond individual cases, these disputes raise broader systemic questions relating to States’ access to specialised expertise, the availability of timely legal support, and the sustainability of the investor–State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) system, especially in sectors where public interest considerations and sovereign regulatory powers are particularly acute.
In response, a number of complementary initiatives have emerged or are currently being developed to strengthen State capacity in ISDS. These include long-standing institutional mechanisms such as the ALSF, recently announced g7+ Rapid Response Advisory Centre, and the ongoing reform discussions within UNCITRAL Working Group III, notably concerning the potential establishment of a standing Advisory Centre on ISDS.
This panel aims to bring together institutional, practitioner and policy perspectives to examine how these initiatives respond to States’ concrete needs across sectors, how they interact with one another, and how they may collectively contribute to a more balanced, accessible and effective ISDS framework.