Seminar: Current Challenges of International and European Economic Law: With Special Focus on Raw Materials and Dispute Resolution

In the summer semester 2025, Prof. Bungenberg will offer a seminar entitled ,,Current Challenges of International and European Economic Law: With Special Focus on Raw Materials and Dispute Resolution” Seminar topics can be reserved by e-mail to Xenia Astapenka (astapenka(at)europainstitut.de) until 27 January 2025 9:00 a.m.

If you are interested in participating in this seminar, please indicate your first and second preference from the topics in the list below. Reservations can be made from 20 January 2025 at 13:00 on a first come first serve basis. The last possible reservation date is 27 January 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Reservations submitted before the start or after the end of the reservation period cannot be considered for reasons of equal opportunity. The maximum number of participants for the seminar is 15. Online participation in the seminar is not possible.

Prof. Bungenberg will hold an introductory session on 29 January 2025 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 1.17 (first floor of the Europa-Institut). In this session, Prof. Bungenberg will introduce the seminar, confirm the assignment of topics and provide further information on the course of the seminar. The outline of the seminar paper must be sent as a PDF document to astapenka(at)europainstitut.de by 28 February 2025 (23:59).

The seminar paper must fulfil all formalities specified by the head of the LL.M. programme (to be found in the Moodle course "Seminars General Information"). The deadline for submitting the seminar paper is 28 April 2025 at 12:00 p.m. A handout for the presentation must be submitted by email as a PDF document to astapenka(at)europainstitut.de at least one day before the seminar is held.

The seminar itself is expected to take place from May 5 to May 8 2025 on the Fraueninsel at Lake Chiemsee (in Bavaria, Germany). The majority of the costs (train tickets, accommodation and full board) will be covered by the chair of Prof. Bungenberg. Students are expected to contribute a maximum of €50-€100.

You will receive all further information at the introductory event and by email as soon as you have registered as a participant for the seminar.

We look forward to your participation!

 

List of topics: 

  1. Principle of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources

  2. EU Critical Raw Materials Act – Starting Point for a European Raw Materials Law?

  3. Importance of the Financial Sector for Sustainable Raw Materials Trading Based on the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

  4. Security of Supply through International Cooperation – A Legal Analysis of the EU’s Raw Materials Policy

  5. Energy Materials in Space and on Celestial Bodies and the Legal Regime of their Extraction

  6. Sustainability in the Raw Materials Sector: The Kimberley Process

  7. Necessity of an EU-US Critical Minerals Agreement

  8. Raw Materials Investments and Investment Protection

  9. Sustainability Commitments of Foreign Investors in the Raw Materials Sector

  10. WTO Leading Decisions of International Raw Materials Law – Do We Have a WTO Raw Materials Law?

  11. The International Regulation (Need for Regulation) of Gold Trading

  12. Security of Supply of Raw Materials as a State Responsibility

  13. Claims for Damages by Populations Affected by Raw Materials Extraction 

  14. Soft Law in the Raw Materials Sector - An Overview

  15. National Raw Materials Companies and their Compatibility with the EU Economic Constitution

  16. Raw Materials Partnerships – Sensible and in Compliance with European Law?

  17. Raw Materials Chapters in the EU Free Trade Agreements – Starting Points for a European Raw Materials Trade Policy?

  18. “Good Governance” in the Raw Materials Sector

  19. Investor-State Contracts in the Energy and Raw Materials Sector: Legal Frameworks and Investment Protection Mechanisms

  20. International Investment Protection under the Energy Charter Treaty: Historical Context, Objectives, Challenges in the 21st Century

  21. Modernising the Energy Charter Treaty: A Path Toward Sustainable Investment Protection?

  22. Investor-State Dispute Settlement under the Energy Charter Treaty: Intra-EU Disputes and Legal Implications Post-Achmea

  23. The Impact of the EU’s and its Member States’ Withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty on Investment Security

  24. The Energy Charter Treaty Sunset Clause: Implications for Long-Term Investment Protection

  25. Libyan Oil Expropriation Cases in the 1970s: A Turning Point in International Investment Law

  26. Host-State Sovereignty and Investment Protection: Lessons from Libyan Expropriations and Implications for Modern Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanisms