5 April 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - Investment arbitration is possibly the fastest-developing area of international law.  Due to the widespread geographical participation of States in investment treaties and the increased use of arbitration to settle disputes involving significant amounts of money, understanding the particularities and dynamics of investment law and arbitration is becoming increasingly important. With this four week course LALIVE and UNITAR aim at giving public and private sector executives an overview of the specific issues relating to arbitration between foreign investors and host States.

The course will be delivered through UNITAR’s Virtual Learning Environment. This pedagogical tool will help participants meet the course’s learning objectives through a self-paced study routine supported by multimedia, optional and required readings, thematic online discussions, self-assessment quizzes, and a wealth of other information.

The course will be conducted in English over a period of four weeks from 7 May to 8 June 2012, each week consisting of a module focusing on a different topic. A team of legal experts with in-depth understanding of issues related to investment arbitration will mentor the participants and moderate the weekly thematic online discussions.

In this course participants will cover the broad areas that are relevant for an understanding of investment arbitration. Each area will be addressed in a module where emphasis is laid on issues that are specific to investment arbitration.

Participants will learn from up-to-date materials from treaty texts, case law and commentary to evaluate the issues covered and to apply the legal doctrines discussed to future situations.  As investment arbitration is a fast-moving area of the law and many questions remain presently unsettled, the instructors will place emphasis on highlighting different and sometimes conflicting interpretations and decisions, inviting participants to consider and analyze them.

All participants of the first course organized in 2011 indicated in the final evaluation that they were completely or mostly satisfied with this course. Below is an anonymous comment received through the final evaluation questionnaire.

“This is a very good course which I think all practitioners that are in the field should take. It helps one understand the complex nature of this field and how much you actually need to know before you venture into it. It was really refreshing and good.”

UNITAR and LALIVE encourage all interested persons to register as early as possible since the number of seats is limited. Further information and online registration is available at: http://www.unitar.org/event/laliveunitar-introduction-investment-arbitration-2012

For additional information on LALIVE please see: http://www.lalive.ch

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