Mounting political pressure and the threat of economic disintegration raise fundamental questions about the architecture of international economic law. The decade following the global financial crisis witnessed a burst of creativity with the rise of regional and mega-regional trade agreements, significant efforts toward multilateral reform of the international investment system, and increasing plurilateralism in international financial governance. Economic institutions are nonetheless still struggling to account for new realities, such as the blurring boundaries between economic and national security, the increasing salience of electronic commerce, the changing dynamics of global inequality, and the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change. The impending paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body and longstanding critiques of investor-state arbitration also raise broader questions about the role of dispute settlement in international economic law. This conference will bring together scholars and practitioners to reflect on the current moment, rethink past designs, and seek innovative paths forward.
