On 23 September marked not only the beginning of the UNCITRAL Working Group III session in Vienna, but also the highly anticipated ITA Roundtable, hosted by KNOETZL, bringing together practitioners of investment treaty arbitration, arbitrators, States’ representatives and international observers. The panel discussion Denying the Benefits of Investment Treaties: Proposals at UNCITRAL Working Group III, focused on the Draft Provision 17 of the UNCITRAL paper A/CN.9/WG.III/WP.244, acknowledging, thus, not only the critical importance of the ‘denial of benefits’ clause, but also the necessity to thoroughly address its application, in particular in the context of the proposed paragraph 2.

The discussion was insightful, engaging and provided valuable takeaways.

A big thank you to the esteemed panelists Lorena Fatás Pérez (Deputy-Head International Arbitration Department, State’s Attorney Office, Kingdom of Spain), Professor Dr. August Reinisch (University of Vienna), Tom Sikora (ExxonMobil) and Florian Haugeneder (KNOETZL), under the skilful moderation of Dr Crina Baltag (Stockholm University), who presented diverse views, including those of the States and of the foreign investors, as well as to the participants for their active participation and making the event so impactful. The guests of the event were welcomed by Anna Joubin-Bret (UNCITRAL) and Jurgita Petkutė (KNOETZL).

Many thanks to everyone who joined us and we look forward to continuing the dialogue and exploring cooperative solutions, driving the next wave of developments!