Introduction

Register now for the Executive Course on Fundamentals of International Investment Law and Arbitration. This introductory course is designed to provide the participants with a foundational understanding of foreign investment law and investor-state arbitration. It is ideal for professionals, civil servants and public officials who need essential knowledge on investment treaty functioning and to engage with more advanced topics in this domain in the future.

Key Facts & Figures

Type: Course
Start date: Monday 29 Sep 2025
Instruction language: English
Mode of instruction: Offline
Fee: €1350,-

Start dates

Monday 29 Sep 2025

Date: 29-30 September 2025 (after the UNCITRAL WGIII meeting in Vienna).

This intensive course takes place over two days in September (after the UNCITRAL WGIII meets in Vienna) and offers immersive instruction on fundamental aspects of international investment law and arbitration. The course will be followed by an online exam scheduled in the course of October 2025.

Topics Covered:

Basics of International Investment Law: Comprehensive introduction to key concepts, terms, and the scope of international investment law. Examination of the overarching structures and regulatory environment governing foreign investments.
Regulatory Framework of International Investment Law: Insight into the substantive investment protection standards included in international investment agreements and customary international law, in particular, National Treatment, MFN, Expropriation, FET and FPS standards.
Introduction to Investor-State Arbitration: Essential principles and procedures of investment arbitration; basis of State’s consent and differences between ICSID and non-ICSID regimes.
Procedural Protections of Foreign Investors and Investments: Jurisdictional and merits defences; damages and costs of investor-State arbitration. Overview of the so-called ‘legitimacy crisis’ of investor-State arbitration and ongoing reform efforts (e.g. UNCITRAL WGIII).

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will acquire a foundational understanding of the core principles underpinning international investment law and investor-State arbitration. The course leverages case studies to bridge theoretical concepts with practical applications, providing participants with the skills to navigate real-world challenges.

Course Fees:

Quick Introductory Course: EUR 1,350 for full two-days course and an online exam

Target Audience:

This course is tailored for professionals working in international business, finance, or government who require a basic understanding of international investment law and arbitration. It is also suitable for junior lawyers preparing to delve into more specialised studies in international investment law and arbitration.

Hilton Hotel en U-Shape Suite — Weena 10, 3012 CM Rotterdam

Venue

This executive course takes place in Rotterdam, and is organized by the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam.

The event will take place at Hilton Rotterdam, a centrally located and highly accessible venue in the heart of the city. Situated at Weena 10, 3012 CM Rotterdam, the hotel is just a five-minute walk from Rotterdam Central Station and offers convenient connections to Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

Hilton Rotterdam provides modern and well-equipped meeting facilities with natural daylight, ensuring a comfortable and professional environment. The venue is known for its outstanding hospitality and award-winning service, having been recognized as the ‘Best Meeting Location’ in 2022.

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Arcuri
Alessandra Arcuri is Full Professor of Inclusive Global Law and Governance at the Department of Law and Markets, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Arcuri is also a member of the Erasmus Initiative on Inclusive Prosperity and of the Erasmus Institute for Public Knowledge (EIPK). Her research and teaching focus on international economic law, sustainability, risk regulation and global technocracy. Her most recent publications include Technocracy and the Law: Accountability, Governance and Expertise, (Routledge 2021) (co-edited with Florin Coman-Kund); ‘Public Interest and International Investment Law: A Critical Perspective on Three Mainstream Narratives’, Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy (Springer 2021) (with Federica Violi); ‘International Economic Law and Disintegration: Beware the Schmittean Moment’, Journal of International Economic Law, (2020); The Great Asymmetry and the Rule of Law in International Investment Arbitration’, Yearbook on International Investment Law and Policy 2018 (OUP 2019), ‘The Chemical Anthropocene: Glyphosate as a Case Study of Pesticide Exposures’, King’s Law Journal (2019) (with Yogi Hendlin). Next to her academic research, she has engaged with non-academic publics, by authoring commissioned reports or briefing institutional actors, including the Dutch Parliament, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and NGOs. Prof. Arcuri has been visiting Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) (Jean Monnet Fellow, 2011-12; Fernand Braudel Fellow, 2021-22), New York University (NYU) (Hauser Global Research Fellow, 2003-04), Hamburg University (Marie Curie Fellow, 2001), among other institutions.
Prof. Dr. Gerard Meijer
Gerard is Full Professor of International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and President of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). Prof. Meijer is widely recognised as a leading international arbitration practitioner and as one of the leading figures in the Netherlands for arbitration and arbitration-related litigation. He has extensive experience acting as counsel to Dutch, international and multinational corporations, as well as to governmental bodies, in high-value matters in a wide range of disputes. He has been involved in disputes under a variety of arbitration rules (including UNCITRAL, ICSID, ICC, SIAC, LCIA, SCC, CEPANI and NAI). He regularly advises corporations on the structuring of their foreign investments and the investment protection offered by international investment agreements. Prof. Meijer is also a member of the Arbitration Commission of the ICC and was part of the ICC’s task force on Arbitration of Climate Change Related Disputes. He has led various innovative initiatives in the international arbitration market, such as the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA), P.R.I.M.E. Finance, the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA) and the Hague Court for Arbitration for Aviation (HCAA). He regularly writes about arbitration for leading publications and commentaries. His doctoral dissertation on the arbitration agreement and his commentary to the Dutch Arbitration Act are among the most authoritative publications in Netherlands on those topics. He is individually ranked in both Chambers and Legal 500 (editions 2004-2025) and is praised by clients for the highly practical and business-minded use of his in-depth knowledge of international arbitration.
Dr. Federica Violi
Dr Federica Violi is Associate Professor in International Law at Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Dr. Violi received her master's in law from the University of Messina and her PhD in international law from the University of Milan La Statale, with a thesis on land grabbing and permanent sovereignty over natural resources. She has been a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg and at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment in New York. Her research focuses in the areas of international economic law, sovereignty over natural resources, investment contracts, international investment agreements, due diligence and law & art. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Violi has practiced law and served as a trainee at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN in Geneva and at the EU Commission (DG Devco) in Brussels She actively lends her expertise to inform institutional practice and NGOs' activities and has recently appeared as an expert before EU Parliamentary committee sessions, the Italian and the German Parliament. Together with Dr. Wilinski, she established a SAIL (‘Sustainability in Investment Law and Arbitration), a Research Platform that regularly hosts international scholars in a series of seminars and conferences.
Dr. Piotr Wilinski
Dr. Piotr Wilinski specializes in international arbitration and is an Assistant Professor at the Commercial Law Department, where he teaches international commercial arbitration and investment arbitration. His research focuses primarily on the powers of arbitral tribunals and impact of technology on international arbitration. Dr. Wilinski serves as the Academic Coordinator for the International Arbitration and Business Law track of the Commercial Law LLM. Together with Dr. Violi, he established a SAIL (‘Sustainability in Investment Law and Arbitration) Research Platform that regularly hosts international scholars in a series of seminars and conferences. Next to his work at the university, he is also a Managing Associate (Knowledge) in the Litigation, Arbitration & Investigation practice group at Linklaters, where he is involved in arbitration proceedings under various arbitration rules. Dr. Wilinski regularly publishes articles on international arbitration and contributes to Linklaters’ thought leadership. He is a member of RAI, Young ICCA, ICC YAF, LCIA YIAG, and other arbitration associations.