WAR & PEACE, AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

11:00 - 12:45 PM

In today’s volatile world, international law, organizations, and institutions are increasingly under direct attack. Up against violent conflict, skeptics may dismiss the very notion of peaceful dispute resolution as naïve and ineffectual. But numerous historical examples, such as the Iran-US Claims Tribunal and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, and the Abeyei arbitration, provide insights about what might be or should not be adapted for contemporary conflicts. This roundtable will anchor conference discussions by examining the practice, promise, and limitations of various forms of international adjudication, including claims tribunals, state-to-state arbitration, and investor-State arbitration. Panelists will analyze the procedural innovations, jurisdictional frameworks, and enforcement mechanisms that promote accountability or otherwise help resolve issues arising out of conflict settings.

THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE AFTER CONFLICT THROUGH CLAIMS COMMISSIONS & TRIBUNALS AND ARBITRATION

3:00 - 4:30PM

As nations emerge from the shadows of war, claims commissions and tribunals and arbitration processes become crucial avenues for addressing grievances, restoring rights, and facilitating reparations for those affected by conflict. This panel will engage in a critical examination of historical, contemporary, and anticipated examples of post-conflict tribunals, highlighting how these frameworks operate within the broader landscape of international law and justice.

FROM COERCION TO COMPENSATION: SANCTIONS AND SETTLEMENT IN RESOLVING VIOLENT CONFLICTS

5:00 - 6:30PM

Sanctions serve as tools of coercion, often paving the way for meaningful settlements in the aftermath of violent conflict. Sanctions also, however, can pose significant challenges in international legal practice. Representing or negotiating with sanctioned parties raises complex questions about legality, ethics, and accountability. At the same time, settlements and other mechanisms for resolving violent conflicts confront difficult trade-offs, forcing us to grapple with the legitimacy of engaging with actors who have committed egregious violations of international law. This panel will explore these tensions, examining how international law navigates the delicate balance between justice, accountability, and the pragmatic need for conflict resolution.

LAWYERS ON THE FRONTLINES: ADJUDICATING DISPUTES THAT IMPLICATE VIOLENT CONFLICTS

11:00 - 12:45PM

Legal experts serve a unique role when representing parties, adjudicating claims, and rendering justice in international disputes that implicate violent conflicts. In these uniquely contentious, high-stakes environments, lawyers and arbitrators face unique challenges, such as assessing in real time the implications of shifting geopolitical dynamics, gathering evidence from war zones, ensuring fair representation, and (sometimes) securing their own safety. This panel will draw on speakers’ experiences in various conflict-tainted legal disputes to reflect on how their roles in those disputes differ from more conventional disputes.

ECHOES OF CONFLICT: LEGAL MECHANISMS FOR RESTORING STOLEN CULTURAL PROPERTY

2:45 - 4:15PM

Today, a network of international conventions, national restitution laws, and diplomatic negotiations shape the legal frameworks for restitution of stolen art and artifacts. Enforcing claims through these legal frameworks, meanwhile, highlights the evolving role of international courts, arbitral tribunals, and other dispute mechanisms to restore stolen heritage. This panel will focus on the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain at this intersection of cultural identity, law, history, and global justice.

Ahmed is a Solicitor-Advocate (Civil and Criminal Higher Rights of Audience) before the Higher Courts of England & Wales and a French Avocat (Avocat au Barreau de Paris).  He currently sits on the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Law Society of England & Wales and is Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the African Society of International Law. Ahmed is also a member of the International Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association.  He practices the full range of public international law, both in contentious and advisory work.  Ahmed is one of the few lawyers in the world who genuinely practices in the field of State-to-State disputes. He has been involved in a number of cases before the International Court of Justice, including the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change Advisory Opinion case.  He has long been acting for both States and investors in investment treaty arbitrations, including BIT cases before ICSID and the PCA.  His experience in commercial arbitration proceedings includes all the major arbitral institutions, such as the ICC and the LCIA. 

Ahmed’s investment treaty and commercial arbitration experience covers a broad range of sectors, including energy and natural resources.  Ahmed also has an extensive practice in non-contentious and advisory work for clients around the world. He regularly advises on structuring and restructuring of investments and complex issues such as: the consequences of civil war on a State’s rights and obligations towards foreign investors; legal issues arising from the existence of competing governments; control over transcontinental submarine cables; maritime delimitation and the related exploitation of natural resources in contested areas; transboundary pipeline transit and transportation regimes; and international law issues arising from State dislocation. In 2021, Ahmed published his first book entitled “International Arbitration and Resolving Disputes Arising from Investments in Times of Crisis”.  Ahmed’s book and other chapter contributions are available in the world’s most prestigious law faculties and libraries.   

Baiju is a renowned leader in ISDS, international commercial arbitration, and public international law as both counsel and arbitrator. Before he joined the Bar in November 2022, Baiju spent 20 years in international law firm practice, including 12 as partner, leading large teams of lawyers in dozens of international arbitration disputes worth several tens of billions of dollars in aggregate. 

His treaty practice has encompassed representation of States and investors under both ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules. Until February 2022, he split his time between Moscow and London leading the Russian Federation’s defence in six major investment treaty arbitrations. He has also advised States on the negotiation and drafting of investment treaties. Prior to that he led the international arbitration practices of major American law firms in London and Washington DC. In those roles, he won several high-profile treaty awards, with particular experience in creating and managing winning global strategies for investors in high-stakes, sensitive disputes involving geopolitical issues or major criminal allegations. His commercial arbitration record is equally robust. He is often called on to lead cases involving English law or a London seat, but has equally led cases seated elsewhere involving laws ranging from those of India, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, UAE, Brazil, various US states, to Russia and the FSU, among others. 

Baiju is a Senior Fellow of International Law at SOAS, University of London, where he teaches international arbitration to postgraduates from around the world. He also has an active pro bono practice using international dispute resolution techniques to further the global rule of law, and is passionate about bringing diversity into the international arbitration field. 

 Catharine Titi, Dr iur., is a tenured Research Associate Professor at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)–CERSA, University Paris-Panthéon-Assas, France. She serves as Co-Chair of the Academic Forum on ISDS, whose work contributes to the discussions in Working Group III of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL WG III). In addition to being a member of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Chair on Threats to Cultural Heritage and Cultural Heritage-related Activities, Catharine sits on the Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) of the Center for American and International Law (CAIL), on the panel of arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA), and she is appointed to the roster of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Annex 31-B panellists. She holds a PhD from the University of Siegen in Germany (Summa cum laude, Rolf H. Brunswig PhD Prize) and she has previously been a consultant at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2016, Catharine was awarded the prestigious Smit-Lowenfeld Prize of the International Arbitration Club of New York for the best article published in the field of international arbitration. Catharine’s working languages are English, French, Greek, and Spanish. Her latest monographs are The Function of Equity in International Law (Oxford University Press 2021) and The Parthenon Marbles and International Law (Springer 2023). Her latest co-edited volume is The Award in International Investment-Arbitration (Oxford University Press 2024). For more information, https://catharinetiti.com. 

Catherine Amirfar is Co-Chair of Debevoise’s International Dispute Resolution Group and the Public International Law Group, and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Her practice focuses on public international law, international commercial and treaty arbitration, and complex international commercial litigation. With over twenty years of experience, Ms. Amirfar has argued before federal and state courts throughout the United States, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and arbitration tribunals sitting around the world. She has deep expertise representing states, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and multinational companies. 

Ms. Amirfar is a Past President of the American Society of International Law (ASIL). She also serves as a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Advisory Committees of the American Law Institute for the Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States and for the Restatement of the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration. Ms. Amirfar is also a member of the Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and serves as Co-Chair of the ICCA Task Force on the Paris Agreement Conciliation Annex and  as Co-Chair of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages in International Arbitration. In 2021, Ms. Amirfar was appointed Deputy Co-Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom. 

Ms. Amirfar maintains a highly active pro bono practice, advising NGOs and individuals in a wide variety of human rights matters. Ms. Amirfar has written extensively on international arbitration, the relationship between international law and U.S. domestic law, international human rights and humanitarian law; investor-state disputes; and the law of consular and diplomatic immunities. She is a frequent lecturer on international law and has guest-lectured at Yale Law School and NYU Law School, among others. 

Christina Hioureas is a partner and Global Co-Chair of Foley Hoag's International Litigation & Arbitration Department, and Chair of the firm’s United Nations practice group. Christina represents States, as well as private and State-owned entities in international disputes and public international law matters and advises States on matters before the United Nations and its bodies. She also serves as arbitrator in international and domestic disputes. Hioureas is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of law, where she teaches Critical Issues in Human Rights Law. 

She has a broad experience, including serving as counsel in investment treaty disputes (ICSID, UNCITRAL) and international commercial arbitration (ICC, SIAC, LCIA, ICDR, AAA, UNCITRAL and Swiss Rules). Ms. Hioureas has served as presiding, sole, emergency, and co-arbitrator in over 50 disputes under UNCITRAL, ICC, ICDR, LCIA, and AAA Rules relating to construction, natural gas, renewables, hospitality, franchise, supply chain, pharmaceuticals, fashion, technology, civil rights, and cyber-security. She also acts for States before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and regional human rights tribunals. She advises States on matters before the United Nations and its bodies, including the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. 

In 2024, Hioureas was recognized as one of the “Top 10 Most Innovative Lawyers” by the Financial Times. She has also three times been awarded the Center for Justice and Accountability’s “Partners in Justice” award for her work on transitional justice in Somalia, Cambodia, and Chile. She has received repeated recognition from Chambers & Partners – Global and USA in the areas of Public International, International Arbitration, and as an Arbitrator; as well as by Who’s Who Legal - Arbitration as a “Thought Leader” and “Most Highly Regarded Partner- the Americas,” and has served as a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). 

George A. Bermann is the director of the Center for International Commercial & Investment Arbitration at Columbia Law School. He is a world-renowned authority on comparative law, EU law, international trade contracts, WTO dispute resolution, and transnational litigation and arbitration. For more than four decades, he has been an active international arbitrator in commercial and investment disputes in all sectors, including general commercial contract, construction, intellectual property, energy, oil and gas, competition law, insurance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, distributorship and franchising, transportation, and employment. He also serves regularly as an expert witness before international arbitral tribunals as well as before courts in arbitral-related cases. 

Bermann joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 1975. He founded both the Columbia Journal of European Law and the European Legal Studies Center, where he serves as the director. In addition to teaching full-time at the Law School, he is an affiliated faculty member of the School of Law of Sciences Po in Paris and the MIDS Masters Program in International Dispute Settlement in Geneva.  

Bermann was the chief reporter for the American Law Institute (ALI) for its Restatement of the Law, The U.S. Law of International Commercial and Investor-State Arbitration, a 12-year project that was completed in 2019; it was the first ALI Restatement on this area of the law. Bermann is also co-author of the UNCITRAL Guide to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, chair of the Global Advisory Board of the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC), co-editor in chief of the American Review of International Arbitration, and founding member of the governing body of the ICC Court of Arbitration and a member of its standing committee. 

Law Graduate cum laude, University of Milan (1965). Master of Comparative Law, Columbia Law School, New York (1967), PhD (libero docente) 1971. Admitted to the Bar (Milan, 1969, and Supreme Court of Italy, 1978).  

Bocconi University emeritus professor since 2016. Formerly tenured professor of International Law and European Law (Jean Monnet Chair, 2004) at Bocconi University (1994-2013), specializing in international economic law (trade and investment), dispute settlement, arbitration. 

International fellow, Aspen Institute. Visiting professor at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales, University of Paris, and in universities in various countries. Course holder at the Academy of International Law of The Hague (1994). Initiator of the Bocconi PhD program in International Law and Economics. Member of the Board of editors of the Italian Yearbook of International law, and of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of World Investment & Trade.  
Vice-president of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (1995-2001). Member of the Appellate Body of the WTO 2001-2009 (Chairman 2006/2007). Arbitrator in international commercial, trade and investment disputes; member, ICSID (World Bank) Roster of arbitrators. 

F. Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute (2012); Distinguished Fellow, Hebrew University, Jerusalem Law School (2024). President of Fondazione CDEC  (Italian Jewish Contemporary Documentation Centre), Milan. Member of the Italian Government Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom. 

Latest of prof. Sacerdoti’s more than 200 academic publications: International Trade and Investment Dispute Settlement. From Rise to Crisis and Reform (Routledge, 2025, with Niall Moran). 

Jeremy Sharpe is an arbitrator, consultant, Member of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNRoD), and Lecturer in Law and Senior Fellow at the International Claims and Reparations Project at Columbia Law School. He serves as a member of the U.S. delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS Reform), a member of the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, and an editor of the ICSID Review—Foreign Investment Law Journal. 

He previously was a partner in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration and public international law practices in London and Paris; a legal adviser at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague; and an attorney in the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where he served as Chief of Investment Arbitration, Legal Adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and attorney-adviser in the Office of African and Near Eastern Affairs and the Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes. 

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an academic and a practitioner in the field of international law. She is a Member of the Institute of International Law and a Member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law. She is recognized for her role as an advisor to states, international organizations and companies, as well as an arbitrator, counsel and advocate in various dispute settlement fora. Following her career as Senior Counsel to the World Bank (1995 - 1999), she has been a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and was the Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization (1999 – 2009). She has been and is a visiting professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III, the University of Paris I (Sorbonne), the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the Collège de France. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. 

 
In the field of dispute settlement, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes acts as Advocate and Counsel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and other dispute settlement fora. She has served as chairperson of WTO arbitration panels on pre-shipment inspections and as arbitrator for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She was a member of the CAS ad hoc Division at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang (2018). She is a judge at the Administrative Tribunal of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).  

 
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has been and is a member of many editorial and advisory boards, including those of the American Journal of International Law, the European Journal of International Law, the International Organizations Law Review and the Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals. She was President of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) between 2012 and 2014. She has authored and edited thirty-five books and has written over 280 articles and contributions to edited volumes. 

 
She holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (Summa Cum Laude), a JD in Private Law from the University of Lyon III, a BA in Sociology from the University of Lyon II and a Diploma in Political Science from the Institute of Political Sciences (Lyon). She took the French national bar exam in 1981. She received the Elizabeth Haub Prize for Environmental Law in 2008 and a Docteur honoris causa from Aix-Marseille University in 2014. 

M.sc in Economics and Business Administration from Bocconi University (magna cum laude) and M.sc in Law (J.D. equivalent) from the University of Pavia (magna cum laude). LL.M from the University of Cambridge. Ph.D. in International Law and Economics from Bocconi University (magna cum laude). Attorney-at-Law at the Milan Bar. 

I am the Lead Expert for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)'s Global Programme, Governance for People and Planet (G4PP) –Compliance and effectiveness of global anti-corruption measures, norms, and standards, and, since 2023, an External Ethics Advisor to the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors of the African Development Bank Group. 

At Bocconi, I am a Faculty Member of the Ph.D. in Legal Studies, a Fellow at BAFFI CAREFIN (Centre for Applied Research on International Markets, Banking, Finance, and Regulation), a Fellow at the Institute for European Policymaking (IEP), and a member of the Bocconi Covid Crisis Lab. I’m co-editor-in-chief of the Bocconi Legal Papers Research Series. I am also an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the City University of Hong Kong.  

I have held visiting positions, among others, at Peking University, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Singapore Management University, Yong Pung How School of Law, and the City University of Hong Kong. In 2019, I was a Fulbright Grant Researcher at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.  

In 2021, the Italian National Scientific Committee unanimously declared me a Full Professor of International Law. 

Before joining Bocconi University, I was an Associate Lawyer at Grande Stevens Law firm in Milan. Apart from my academic appointments, I have served the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a Technical Assistance Specialist (2011-2013) and authored and co-authored reports commissioned by the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Since 2011, I have participated in technical assistance programs led by the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the IMF, and the Inter-American Development Bank, with field missions in Greece, Vietnam, Panama, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia. I was a member of the Italian delegation to the V Conference of State Parties of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.  

Makane Moïse Mbengue is Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva and Director of the Department of International Law and International Organization. He is also an Affiliate Professor at Sciences Po Paris (School of Law). He holds a Ph.D. in Public International Law from the University of Geneva. Since 2017, he is the President of the African Society of International Law (AfSIL). He is also Associate Member of the Institut de Droit International (IDI). 

He has acted and acts as expert for the African Union, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) among others. He also acts as a Professor for courses in International Law organized by the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). 

Prof. Mbengue acts as counsel in disputes before international courts and tribunals (in particular, before the International Court of Justice and in investment cases) and as advisor for governments. He is involved in the negotiations of several International Investment Agreements in Africa. 

He is the author of several publications in the field of international law. 

Manuela Londoño specializes in human rights and both public and private international law. She is currently a Senior Lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, working on different human rights and international justice cases before international, regional, and domestic fora.  Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, she was an international arbitration associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP and White & Case LLP.  During her time in private practice, she focused on investor-state arbitration, international commercial arbitration, anti-corruption, and did extensive pro bono work on international human rights cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and U.S. domestic courts. As a young lawyer, she interned at the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and collaborated with the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).  Before studying law, Ms. Londoño worked as a Producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 

Maria Vicien Milburn is an international judge and arbitrator, and former senior official of the United Nations. She is a specialist in public international law with extensive dispute resolution experience in arbitration, conciliation and negotiation acquired through senior positions as General Counsel of UNESCO, Director of the General Legal Division of the United Nations, and Registrar of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. 

Ms Vicien Milburn currently acts as arbitrator in cases involving sovereign States, including under the auspices of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). She has been appointed Chair of the Sanctions Board of the World Bank, Alternate Chair of the Enforcement Appeals Committee of the Asian Development Bank and sits as judge of the Administrative Tribunals of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is a member of the list of panelists of the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). 

During her thirty-five year career as an international lawyer at the United Nations and UNESCO, Ms Vicien Milburn provided legal advice on all issues relating to the operation of the two organizations worldwide. She oversaw all commercial contracting, directed the conduct of all litigation and arbitration, and advised on international treaties and conventions. Since retirement from the United Nations in 2014, Ms Vicien Milburn has continued to serve in multiple capacities as a special advisor to international organizations. An active member of the arbitral community, Ms Vicien Milburn is an observer to UNCITRAL Working Groups II and III on international arbitration, a member of the ICC Arbitration Commission, and an advisor to the Board of the Arbitration Court of Madrid. 

Mélida Hodgson is a Chambers ranked investor-state and commercial arbitration practitioner and arbitrator. Mélida is president of the American Society of International Law. With three decades of experience practicing at the intersection of international arbitration and sovereign obligations, she represents clients operating worldwide across the range of arbitration fora, including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), The Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), America Arbitration Association (AAA/ICR), and under the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). 

In May 2024, President Joe Biden designated Mélida to the ICSID Panel of Conciliators. She will serve the standard six-year term on the ICSID panel. Mélida is also a vice chair of the ICC Institute of World Business Law and serves on the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR and its Task Force on Corruption in Arbitration, as well as on the Council of the AAA/ICDR. She is a founding member of the Washington Women in International Arbitration. 

Earlier in her legal career, Mélida was a U.S. government litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she litigated claims brought by bank shareholders against the United States, and an associate general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she litigated international trade disputes before the WTO and provided counsel in NAFTA Chapter 11 investor-state arbitrations involving the United States, Canada and Mexico. Before entering the legal profession, she was a banker at Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan Chase). 

Mélida is active in the profession beyond her immediate practice, frequently speaking at conferences and writing articles on international investment and commercial arbitration and international law, issues, as well as serving in leadership roles of related organizations. 

Mona Ali Khalil is a respected public international lawyer with 30 years of service in the United Nations system. She is the Director of MAK LAW INTERNATIONAL — a strategic consulting service advising governments and intergovernmental organizations. She is also an Affiliate of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. 

Ms. Khalil formerly served as a Senior Legal Officer in the UN Office of the Legal Counsel (UNOLC) and in the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs. In UNOLC, she was head of the peacekeeping team and lead lawyer on the Security Council sanctions regimes. She advised, inter alia, on the protection of civilians’ mandate and the use of force by UN peacekeepers as well as on the human rights challenges and humanitarian impact of counterterrorism sanctions. She also undertook several special assignments involving the wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria including serving as Legal Adviser to the UN Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons (CW) in Syria and the Joint OPCW-UN Mission for the Elimination of the Syrian CW Programme.  

She has authored several articles and co-authored several books including, most recently, Empowering the UN Security Council: Reforms to Address Modern Threats (Oxford University Press 2024) which she co-edited with Floriane Lavaud. 

She holds an AB in Government and an AM in Middle East Studies from Harvard University as well as an MS in Foreign Service and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University. 

Olena Perepelynska is a leading expert in international arbitration and Partner at INTEGRITES, where she heads the International Arbitration practice. With over 20 years of experience, she is celebrated for her work as both counsel and arbitrator in more than 200 cases under various arbitration rules, including ICC, LCIA, SCC, and GAFTA. Her industry focus spans agribusiness, energy, retail, and natural resources.  

Since 2016 till 2024, Olena has served as President of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association (UAA), driving initiatives to modernize arbitration legislation, enhance judicial practices, and promote gender equality in arbitration. Her leadership includes creating a database of arbitrators for Ukraine-related disputes and organizing Arbitration Academies for Ukrainian lawyers and business. 

Olena is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and a faculty member for its international arbitration courses. A frequent speaker and writer, she has authored over 140 publications and regularly shares her expertise at global forums. Recognized as a Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal and among GAR 45 under 45, she is a pivotal figure in the arbitration community. 

Fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Spanish, Olena holds a Master’s degree in International Law from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Paris Aboro is a Special Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP. She advises clients across a range of industries in complex international disputes, including both investor-state and commercial arbitrations, and related litigation. Her practice also includes sovereign representation in international courts. 

Paris  previously served as the Legal Advisor to Judge. O. Thomas Johnson at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. She also practiced as a barrister in London, acting in in a variety of litigation across practice areas, including cases that involved an international or cross-border element. 

Paris currently guest lectures a seminar on International Investment Law at Columbia Law School, and she maintains an active pro bono practice, with a focus on public international law advisory matters. 

Dr. Paul R. Williams holds the Rebecca I. Grazier Professorship in Law and International Relations at American University where he teaches in the School of International Service and at the Washington College of Law. Dr. Williams is also the co-founder of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), a pro bono law firm providing legal assistance to states and governments involved in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and the prosecution of war criminals. As a world renowned peace negotiation lawyer, Dr. Williams has assisted over two dozen parties in major international peace negotiations and has advised numerous parties on the drafting and implementation of post-conflict constitutions. Several of Dr. Williams' pro bono government clients throughout the world joined together to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Dr. Williams has served as a Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as an Attorney-Adviser for European and Canadian affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Williams is a sought-after international law and policy expert. He is frequently interviewed by major print and broadcast media and regularly contributes op-eds to major newspapers. Dr. Williams has authored six books on various topics concerning international law, and has published over three dozen scholarly articles on topics of international law and policy. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on a number of occasions relating to specific peace processes, transitional justice, and self-determination. Dr. Williams is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and has served as a Counsellor on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law. In 2019, Paul was awarded the Cox International Law Center's Humanitarian Award for Advancing Global Justice.  

Pierre d’Argent is a full Professor at the University of Louvain, Belgium, a Member of the Institute of International Law and the past President of the European Society of International Law. He is a Member of the Bar of Brussels, Special Counsel to Foley Hoag LLP and he represents States in interstate disputes, in particular before the International Court of Justice which he served previously as First Secretary.   

Pierre’s advisory and litigation experience before international tribunals, regional and domestic courts cover land and maritime disputes, genocide, war reparation, human rights, aviation disputes, investment arbitration, State contracts, environmental claims, natural resources, debts and vulture funds claims, immunities of States and of international organizations. 

Pierre is the author of over 110 published articles and book chapters, an award-winning book on war reparations, a published course at The Hague Academy of International Law, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on www.edx.org and courses on the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Annuaire français de droit international, the Revue belge de droit international and the European Journal of International Law. In 2027, he will teach a general course at The Hague Academy of International Law.  

Pierre has been selected by the European Union as potential arbitrator under the Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (reserve list). He is also retained by the EU as a potential arbitrator or a potential trade and sustainable development expert for dispute settlement panels under trade agreements to which the EU is a party.  

Roger O’Keefe is Professor of International Law at Bocconi University. Previously he was Professor of Public International Law at University College London, before which he taught for fifteen years at the University of Cambridge, where was Senior Lecturer in Law, Deputy Director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, and Fellow of Magdalene College. He is joint General Editor of the Oxford University Press series Oxford Monographs in International Law. Professor O’Keefe’s many published works include the monograph The Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict (Cambridge University Press, 2006), the treatise International Criminal Law (Oxford University Press, 2015), and the co-edited volume The United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property: A Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2013). 

Seun  Oduwole B. Arch, Dip. Arch, M.Arch  RIBA 

Seun is an architect and designer with over 20 years of experience, delivering ground breaking cultural, commercial, retail, urban regeneration and immersive design projects. He is the visionary and project director of the John Randle Centre, a theatre of living memory dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Yoruba history, culture and heritage, recently shortlisted as finalist for a World Architecture Festival award.  

He is principal Architect at SI.SA, an architecture studio in Lagos and a co-founder of Living Objects, an experiential design studio with a focus on the interrogation and production of culturally immersive spaces. He is a fellow of the Directors forum at the Yale Institute for the preservation of cultural heritage and an associate at the Institute of Creative repair, a research & advocacy think tank developing practices for more regenerative cultural ecosystems in Africa and the global south.  

He is passionate about educating young designers through initiatives like the African Alliance for New Design, has guest lectured at the University of Lagos and Central St. Martins, London. His work has been featured on CNN, the Guardian, Architectural Digest, Arch Daily, Dezeen, Architecture of Sub-saharan Africa and Made by Design: a Netflix documentary showcasing the work of innovative designers leading the charge on the African continent.  

Steven Finizio's practice focuses on international dispute resolution. He has acted as counsel in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations in matters involving the laws of jurisdictions in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the United States as well as under bilateral and multilateral investments treaties.  He has appeared as counsel in regional and other international courts, and was part of a team that won a landmark decision in the first freedom of expression case in the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.  His pro bono work has included assisting a Central European government to draft new arbitration legislation.  He also serves as an arbitrator. 

He is Professor of Practice at SOAS University of London and Deputy Director of the SOAS School of Law Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre (SADRC).  

Mr. Finizio is a member of the GIAC Arbitration Council, the Protem Committee for the AIAC Court of Arbitration, and a past member of the LCIA Court.   

His publications include “A Practical Guide to International Commercial Arbitration:  Assessment, Planning and Strategy” and “International Commercial Arbitration,” in The Law of Transnational Business Transactions.   

Mr. Finizio is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Media Defence Legal Initiative and the Advisory Board of the Institute of Small and Micro States. 

Uche is a consulting attorney in ArebtFoxSchiff’s International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution practice. For more than a decade, Uche was Senior Counsel at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), in Washington, DC. He was involved, as Secretary or Team Leader, in over 70 cases in various economic sectors, including oil, gas, and mining, construction, agriculture, finance, and tourism; and was a core member of the 2016 ICSID Rules amendment team. Prior to ICSID, he was a lawyer at the United Nations Compensation Commission, Geneva, working on various types of cases, including a consolidated claim of over 800,000 migrant workers for lost remittances; as well as claims by airlines and shipping companies, banks and insurance companies. He was in domestic law practice in the UK and in Nigeria before that. 

Uche’s current practice focuses on international investment arbitration, commercial disputes, and advisory services. He has served as presiding-, sole-, and co-arbitrator in disputes before ICSID, the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, the American Arbitration Association, New York, and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. He advises the State of Kuwait’s multi-billion dollar National Focal Point for Environmental Projects. A member of the Board of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center, Uche is also on the Panel of Arbitrators of various arbitration institutions around the world. 

Won L. Kidane, JD, SJD is a professor of law at Villanova University School of Law and the Director of the South Africa Program. Before joining Villanova Law, Kidane taught at Seattle University School of Law for 15 years, which followed three years of teaching at Penn State Law.  Prior to joining the legal academy, he practiced law in Washington, DC with Hunton & Williams, and Piper Rudnick (now DLA Piper) for four years.  

Professor Kidane’s areas of expertise include international arbitration and litigation, comparative law and the legal aspects of China-Africa economic relations.  He is the author and co-author of five books and more than 40 law review articles and book chapters.  His most recent comprehensive book is – Africa’s International Investment Law Regimes (Oxford University Press, 2024).   

With extensive practice representing African states, their agencies and instrumentalities in international commercial and investment arbitration in matters administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and sustained scholarly work and teaching, Kidane is globally among the leading experts of international commercial and investment arbitration. 

In addition to his teaching, scholarly work, and practice, Kidane is a member of numerous associations including the Academic Forum for Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform, the Academic Forum for Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA), and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) (past co-chair of the Africa Interest Group). He has also served as an arbitrator and is on the roster of arbitrators of some of the leading arbitral institutions in the Global South, including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, (HKIAC) Mauritius International Arbitration Center (MIAC), China Economic International Arbitration Center (CEITAC) and Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA). 

In the university area, numerous accommodation options are available. Below, you'll find some choices within walking distance from the university:

• Hotel dei Cavalieri Milano Duomo - Piazza Giuseppe Missori, 1, 20123 Milan (1,7 km walking/2,5 km by car)
• UNAHOTELS Mediterraneo Milano - Via L. Muratori, 14 – 20135 Milan (1,4 km walking) 
• Hotel Uptown Palace - Via Santa Sofia, 10 - 20122 Milan (1,3 km walking)
• The Square Milano Duomo - Via Albertico Albricci, 24 - 20122 Milan (1,7 km walking/2,9 by car)
• Grand Visconti Palace - Viale Isonzo, 14 - 20135 Milan (1,4 km walking)
• Hotel Crivi's - Corso di Porta Vigentina 46 - 20122, Milan (1 km walking)
• Hotel Mozart - Piazza Gerusalemme, 6 - 20154, Milan (6 km by car)

We recommend contacting the hotels directly for the most accurate and up-to-date information on availability and bookings.

Bocconi University is well-connected by Milan’s public transportation network, making it easy to reach from anywhere in the city. Whether you’re arriving by metro, tram, bus, or train, there are several convenient options.

Tram

• Line 15: Porta Lodovica station, a short walk from the university.
• Line 9: Bligny Lodovica station, near the campus.
• Line 24: Ripamonti Sabotino station, within walking distance.

Bus

• Lines 90 and 91: Frequent service with stops near Bocconi University.

Metro

• M3 (Yellow Line): Porta Romana station (15-minute walk), connects to Centrale Railway Station for national and international trains.
• M2 (Green Line): Porta Genova station (20-minute walk), connects to Garibaldi Railway Station and regional train services.
• M4 (Blue Line): Santa Sofia station (10-minute walk), offers a direct link to Linate Airport.

Train

• Milano Tibaldi Università Bocconi Station: Served by the S9 suburban railway, providing easy access from other parts of the city and beyond.

A standard ATM ticket costs €2.20, valid for 90 minutes on all trams, buses, and metro lines.

For more information you can visit the ATM webpage - Azienda Trasporti Milanesi

Bocconi University is as well easily accessible by car, from the highways, take the Tangenziale Ovest Milano, exit at Viale Liguria.

Parking Near the University

Quick Parking offers several parking options close to campus:

• Bocconi “B” – Via Röntgen 1
• Bocconi “C” – Via Bocconi 8
• Bocconi “D” – Via Castiglioni 8

For rates, payment methods, and access details, visit Quick Parking Bocconi.