American Bar Association: 2009 Spring Meeting

• 4.14.2009 - 4.18.2009
• The Fairmont
  Washington, DC

When does government action purporting to protect and preserve natural resources become a compensatory expropriation under an investment treaty? The issue of takings and environmental protection has long been discussed as a matter of domestic constitutional jurisprudence, with fascinating parallels and differences when the subject of a dispute under international law. In this program, presented by the ABA International Law Section, experts from different sectors will examine recent developments in free trade agreements, trade policy and international arbitrations, including the recent ICSID case Biwater Gauff v.Tanzania, involving the privatization of a water concession, and the ongoing NAFTA Chapter 11 case, Glamis Gold v. United States, in which a Canadian mining conglomerate, Glamis Gold, Ltd., has brought a $50 million claim against the U.S. arising out of a dispute over a proposed gold mine in northern California. The panel of experts will explore the development of regulatory expropriation law in the hotly-contested and high-stakes arena of environment and natural resource protection.

WilmerHale Partner Ethan Shenkman will be a featured speaker at this conference. On April 17th, he will speak on the topic of "When is Environmental Protection a Taking Under International Law? Regulatory Expropriation, Investment Treaty Arbitration and Natural Resources Disputes."