On 6 May 2026, the Rio Course on Regional and International Dispute Settlement (Rio CRIDS) was honored to welcome Prof. Laurence Marquis, assistant professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sherbrooke. The course is held by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme and directed by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida.

In the lecture “Arbitrator Independence and Impartiality in International Commercial and Investment Arbitration”, moderated by Prof. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Prof. Laurence Marquis began by discussing why independence and impartiality matter in arbitration. Unlike domestic courts, arbitrators are chosen by private parties, so the legitimacy depends on trust in the decision-maker. For investment state dispute settlement (ISDS), there is a public dimension that requires an even higher standard than purely commercial arbitration. Prof. Marquis presented the legal framework for dealing with conflicts of interest, with one of the debates being on the threshold of the ‘manifest’ lack of independence under Art. 57 of the ICSID Convention. Later cases have shown a change of direction to a broader interpretation of the term, which is important so as not to confuse the arbitrator’s expertise with partiality.

In the second part of her presentation, Prof. Marquis examined the ISDS legitimacy crisis. Based on quantitative data, she argued that there has been an explosive growth of ISDS and that these trends created structural pressure on the system. The backlash from states has been against the potential bias of arbitrators, the asymmetry of rights and obligations, the confidentiality of proceedings and the lack of appeal in traditional ISDS. According to Prof. Marquis, the reform pathways are abolition (withdrawing from treaties and no international investment arbitration), targeted reform (stronger disclosure rules, codes of conduct and improved standards) or transformation (creating a permanent multilateral investment court). For instance, Brazil has a new model through Cooperation and Investment Facilitation Agreements, with only state-to-state arbitration and focusing on prevention.

We warmly thank Prof. Marquis for an enriching session on this thought-provoking subject. We look forward to further collaboration.