Building capacity on International Investment Dispute Settlements

“I gained a better understanding of the principles underlying the provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) and in turn, improved my understanding of claims made under dispute settlement clauses,” Ms. Nadira Noordin said.

She found the issues discussed during the training useful to her work as a Senior Federal Counsel with the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Ms. Noordin was among 32 participants, including 23 women, who dove deeper into investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) issues, such as specific applications of ISDS to host states’ policies in key economic sectors like mining and oil.

Following the first virtual training on international investment dispute settlement for the Malaysian public and private sectors in August this year, a second session of the series was held in September.

The training helps to develop participants’ understanding of ISDS, including its impacts on state and businesses under FTAs and investment guarantee agreements. These efforts will contribute to strengthening the country’s sustainable business and investment environment.

The training also touched upon novel approaches to dispute settlement around the world such as Brazil’s Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement model, and Korea’s Ombudsmen system.

Mr. Colin Brown, Lawyer and Head of Unit for “Legal Aspects of Trade and Sustainable Development and Investment” from the European Commission’s Directorate-General of Trade attended the training as guest speaker. Mr. Brown shared the EU’s perspective on the Multilateral Investment Court system, including potential design features and other issues discussed at the UN Commission on International Trade Law pertaining to this initiative.

The trainings are organized by ITC in partnership with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, as part of the ARISE Plus Malaysia project. Malaysian participants will return for the third and final training session in November 2021.

About the project

The ARISE Plus Malaysia project supports inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country through enhancing sustainable business and investment environments, improving product quality and competitiveness, as well as enhancing sustainable and internationally quality-compliant practices in the agri-food sector.

The three-year project is funded by the European Union and is a part of its national and regional ARISE Plus projects to support greater connectivity and economic integration in ASEAN. The project is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.