HKU CCPL Talk
Fair and Equitable Treatment in International Investment Law
Date: 13 October 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 PM
Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
Registration: click here.
Prior registration is required for this in-person event.
Abstract
Fair and Equitable Treatment (“FET”) has become one of the most frequently invoked rules in international investment arbitration. While the phrase itself appears deceptively simple, it has developed into a sophisticated body of jurisprudence addressing issues such as denial of justice, protection of an investor’s legitimate expectations, and prohibition of other discriminatory conduct of a State. This lecture explores how the FET standard has evolved, how international tribunals apply it in practice, and why it remains central in international investment law. Drawing on recent cases and developments, the lecture will examine how international tribunals have interpreted and applied the FET standard in practice, and consider its continuing role in balancing the protection of investors with the regulatory autonomy of States.
Speaker
Professor Hussein Haeri KC
Professor Hussein Haeri KC is a King’s Counsel in England and Wales and Professor of Practice at SOAS, University of London. He is a Partner of Withers LLP and the firm’s head of public international law group and co-head of international arbitration. Hussein is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. He is also on the Faculty at the University of Rome, Roma Tre University. Hussein has extensive experience advising States, State-owned entities and corporations as lead counsel and advocate on public international law matters. He represented the first successful investment claim by a Chinese investor against a sovereign State in Africa (Zhongshan v Nigeria). In addition to his practice as counsel, he sits as an arbitrator. He has served as counsel before the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, as well as in national courts such as in England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands on matters relating to public international law, international arbitrations and enforcement. He has served as counsel on arbitrations under various rules including ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, SCC and SIAC, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations.
Chair
Professor James Fry
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
The University of Hong Kong
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