Annual Conference 2020

Join us via Zoom for five sessions over two weeks, dedicated to pivotal issues in European law, with contributions from senior judges and high-profile practitioners.

Tuesday 22nd September: The Ratline & Genocides, Then and Now in Law & Life

Philippe Sands QC, author of the recently published The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive, in conversation with colleagues Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales and Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who was prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Wednesday 23rd September: Virtual Hearings – The European Experience

Courts and tribunals everywhere have been faced with the same problem in the Covid-19 pandemic: how to deliver justice during lock-down.

Thursday 24th September: The CJEU – A Supreme court for Europe?

This discussion will aim at the heart of the debate over the relationship between the CJEU and the courts of Member States. What happens when there is a genuine perception on the part of a Member State court that the CJEU has exceeded the terms of the Treaties? Is the resultant decision nevertheless binding? How would that fit in with the reciprocal obligations of sincere cooperation of the CJEU and Member State courts and with the rule of law as set out in the Treaties?

Wednesday 30th September: Lugano or Hague? Jurisdictions & Judgements Rules with Non-EU States

In the light of the agreement of Hague 2019 and the apparent intent of the EU to accede to Hague 2019, what arrangements should a non-EU state make if it wishes to optimise the system for the reciprocal enforcement of judgments between itself and the EU?

Thursday 1st October: The future of BITs in Europe

This session will explore the future of these agreements in an EU and international law perspective, including what is next after the CJEU’s judgment in Case C-284/16 Achmea and the legal effect of the treaty for the termination of intra-EU BITs signed by 23 Member States on 5 May 2020. It will also address how these developments may affect investor-State arbitration under other international agreements, including the Energy Charter Treaty, and what impact Brexit could have in this context.