About the Lecture

The annual International Arbitration lecture, presented by Clayton Utz and supported by the University of Sydney, brings together key figures in international arbitration and the Australian business community to explore the real issues that could affect their international operations, and how international dispute resolution can contribute to their bottom line.

2020 marks the 19th anniversary of the International Arbitration Lecture series, which continues to attract guest speakers from the four corners of the world to give their insights into the challenges facing international arbitration.

Topic: A Response to DFAT’s Review of Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties

In August 2020, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announced a review of the 15 bilateral investment treaties to which Australia is a party and invited submissions from stakeholders as part of this exercise (see discussion paper here). Professor Zachary Douglas QC proposes to respond to this invitation and set out his thoughts on the optimal design of a bilateral investment treaty in light of the policy concerns expressed by the Australian Government and his experience in litigating and arbitrating investment disputes over the past twenty years. He will demonstrate that many of the ‘safeguards’ introduced by States into their modern treaties are pretty on paper but ineffective in practice and that a reassessment of the optimal approach is overdue.