Lunch seminar with Jonathan Kabre

The participation of African local communities in the settlement of investment disputes: toward more inclusiveness?

Abstract

The treatment of human rights issues by investment tribunals has received increased attention in recent years. This seminar will discuss some aspects of such treatment by examining whether and how these tribunals consider the rights and interests of African local communities. The first part examines whether investment tribunals allow for appropriate consideration of the rights and interests of these local communities, who are also affected by the dispute, but not parties to it? Are these communities visible and their interests protected in the settlement of investment disputes? If yes, how ? If not why? This will be done through a discussion of investment cases that have involved African States and which amount to nearly a quarter of the total of investment cases . The presentation goes further by analyzing how the rights and interests of these communities are taken into account in the current reforms of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and what options are currently being considered for better protection and inclusion of these communities.

Speaker bio

Rimdolmsom Jonathan Kabré is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa, where he also coordinates the LL.M. Programme in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa.

Dr. Kabré completed his doctoral studies at University of Lausanne in 2019, for which he was awarded the 2020 Prix de Faculté of the University of Lausanne. He studied law at the University Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso (LL.B. and LL.M.) and also holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the University of Lausanne.

Dr. Kabré’s research interests span across the settlement of international disputes, socio-legal approaches to law and international economic law with a particular focus on Africa. His publications include the monograph Le role des juristes privés dans le règlement des différends impliquant les Etats (Helbing lichtenhahn verlag, 2021) as well as several other articles and book chapters.

Participate via Zoom

https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/63590468119?pwd=NDRvbk1iR1ZJZUp5OVFRd3NJdlgyZz09

Meeting ID: 635 9046 8119
Passcode: 778850