Secretary for Justice delivers 45th Alexander Lecture of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (with photos)

     The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, today (January 16) delivered the 45th Alexander Lecture of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), entitled "The Search for Order within Chaos in the Evolution of ISDS". The Alexander Lecture was attended by senior practitioners, academics as well as government officials.
 
     During the lecture, Ms Cheng first took the audience through the history of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), a subject that is being intensively discussed at various international forums including the Working Group III of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. She then observed the chaos in the current landscape of ISDS reform. In order to find order within chaos, she proposed a "double helix" approach to, on one hand, capitalise on the strength of investment mediation, and, on the other hand, explore the establishment of a well-balanced ISDS appellate mechanism to achieve the high standard of legitimacy expected of ISDS.
      
     Ms Cheng said, "It is my great honour to be invited by CIArb in March last year as the first woman to deliver the prestigious Alexander Lecture. Regrettably, the original event had to be postponed due to the assault and the injury I sustained on my way to the event venue in London. I am very thankful to the CIArb for its time and effort to rearrange the event in Hong Kong. I hope that the perspectives in the lecture can contribute to the international discussion on the way forward for ISDS reform."