THE PREVENTION AND SETTLEMENT OF HYDROELECTRIC INDUSTRY RELATED DISPUTES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

Speaking at King’s College London, Jane Davies Evans, alongside Professor Attila M. Tanzi (Professor of International Law at the University of Bologna) discussed the prevention and settlement of Hydroelectric Industry related disputes under International law.

Professor Tanzi’s lecture, for which Jane Davies Evans acted as commentator, first explained the peculiar features of hydropower industry that render its projects and their realisation susceptible to produce disputes. The illustration followed of the relevance of four bodies of international law to avoidance, or settlement, of hydroelectric industry related disputes. Namely, i) international water law; ii) private international law; iii) human rights law; iv) international investment law. The state and non-state nature was emphasised of the subjects of the legal relations stemming from the relevant rules in question. Having special regard to the rules pertaining to transboundary water law, the substantial interest in compliance with them also by actors who are not formally their addressees, such as foreign investors, or indigenous populations, were highlighted. The illustration of the regulatory settings in question was combined with reference to the adjudicative, and non-adjudicative, means of dispute prevention and settlement available under each of the four relevant bodies of law in question. A few overarching features and trends were drawn from the case law, such as the complementarity between procedural and substantive rules, as well as the interplay between negotiation, adjudication and agreement.

For more information relating to Jane Davies Evans or the issues raised at the talk, please contact Stephen Penson, Senior clerk at 3VB.

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