Horia Ciurtin | Senior Expert

Horia Ciurtin is a Legal Adviser in the field of international investment law and international arbitration; Associate Expert at New Strategy Center (Bucharest); Managing Editor of the EFILA Blog which appears under the auspices of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (Brussels), as well as Editor at VERSO Journal (Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, Romania).

At the moment he is conducting doctoral research under the aegis of the Amsterdam Center for International Law (University of Amsterdam) on issues pertaining to (deviant) territoriality narratives within international (investment) law.

He was one of the co-authors of the volume dedicated to the ICSID Convention and published by Kluwer Law International, signing the study “Paradoxes of (Sovereign) Consent: On the Uses and Abuses of a Notion in International Investment Law”. In 2014, awarded with the Honorable Mention in the Nappert Prize in International Arbitration and International Commercial Law (organized by McGill University).

Author of two books, numerous chapters in collective volumes, as well as of multiple studies and policy papers in domestic and international academic journals, in the field of international law and international relations, constitutional law and legal philosophy.

He has been broadly involved in research activities and advisory work throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but also in relation to the Asia-Pacific region. His area of expertise stretches beyond the legal field, being active in strategic analysis, geoeconomics and religious studies.

Publications [Selection]

Volumes:

• „Tentatia politicului: Reflectii conservatoare dupa sfarsitul istoriei“, Eikon, Bucharest, 2015 [EN: The Temptation of the Political: Conservative Reflections after the End of History]
• „Dilemele controlului de constituționalitate: Incursiune în paradigmele spațiului euro-american“, Rosetti International, Bucharest, 2013 [EN: The Dilemmas of Constitutional Review: Inquiry in the Euro-American Paradigms].

Contributions to collective volumes:

• „Paradoxes of (Sovereign) Consent: On the Uses and Abuses of a Notion in International Investment Law”, in Crina Baltag (ed.), ICSID Convention After 50 Years: Unsettled Issues, Kluwer International, 2017.
• „A Hermeneutical Perspective upon the ‘Mitigation of Damages’ Principle: The Metamorphosis of a Concept in International Law”, in Andrea K. Bjorklund (ed.), Nappert Prize in International Arbitration, ICC/McGill, Paris, 2015.

Policy Papers, Reports:​

• „A Delicate Sense of (Economic) Balance:Turkey, Russia and the Other Strategic Map“, New Strategy Center, Policy Brief (June 2017).
• „Strategic Challenges in South East Europe and the Black Sea Area“, New Strategy Center (Bucharest) – IRMO (Zagreb), Policy Paper, February 2017, report by Cosmin Ioniță (coord.), Sergiu Celac, Horia Ciurtin, Sandro Knezović, Miruna Troncotă.
• „Left Behind? Reassessing the Balkan Quest for EU Integration“, European Institute of Romania, Policy Briefs Series, No. 2 (2017).
• „EFILA Task Force Paper regarding the proposed International Court System (ICS)“, report by Koorosh Ameli, Ilias Bantekas, Horia Ciurtin, Filippo Fontanelli, Nikos Lavranos, Mauro Rubino-Sammartano and Emma Spiteri Gonzi, January 2016.
• „În căutarea consensului pierdut: Mituri despre protecția investitorilor în TTIP și cum își propune UE să revoluționeze sistemul de soluționare a disputelor“, CRPE Policy Brief 41, January 2016 [EN: In Search of Lost Consensus: Myths about Investor Protection in TTIP and How the EU Tries to Revolutionize the Dispute Settlement System].

Articles in Academic Journals:

• ​„The Floating Island: A Post-Westphalian Enquiry upon Taiwan’s Sovereignty Dilemma (And Its Investment Treaty Bypass)”, forthcoming late 2017.
• „Turning Enemies into Adversaries: TTIP Negotiations and the Quest for a New Westphalia Momentum“, The Turkish Commercial Law Review, Volume 2, Issue 1 (Summer 2016) [also presented at CEILA, Queen Mary University of London] (co-author: Emanuela Matei).
• „Lights and Shadows of the WTO-Inspired International Court System“, European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, Volume 1/2016 (co-authors: Filippo Fontanelli, Koorosh Ameli, Ilias Bantekas, Nikos Lavranos, Mauro Rubino-Sammartano, Emma Spiteri Gonzi).
• „Beyond the Norm: The Hermeneutic Function of Treaty Preambles in Investment Arbitration and International Law“, Revista Romana de Arbitraj [Romanian Arbitration Review], No. 4/2015.
• „Tendințe europene in dreptul investițiilor: competențe, standarde de protecție si aplicații arbitrale“, Revista Romana de Arbitraj [Romanian Arbitration Review], Anul 11 / Nr. 1 ianuarie-martie 2017, Volumul 41 [EN: European Trends in Investment Law: Competence, Protection Standards and Arbitral Reflections].
• „Politica de Securitate și Apărare a Uniunii Europene – paradoxuri și realități” în Revista de Ştiinţe Politice şi Relaţii Internaţionale nr. 4/2013 [EN: The Security and Defence Policy of the European Union: Paradoxes and Realities].

Conferences, Lectures, Presentations​

• Presentation at the 2017 ILA-ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum entitled ‘The Geopolitics of International Law: Contemporary Challenges for the Asia-Pacific’, Taipei (Taiwan), 20 May 2017.
• Lecture at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research about the EU’s Investment Court System, Taipei (Taiwan), 19 May 2017.
• Presentation of a study regarding the strategic dimension of trade and investment in the Balkans (at the Croatian Defense Academy), joint New Strategy Center-IRMO conference, March 2017, Zagreb.
• Presentation at the debate entitled ‘Strategic challenges in the area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea’ organized by New Strategy Center (Romania) and The Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO (Croatia), Bucharest, 20 February 2017.
• Presentation at the the Institute for Comparative Law from Belgrade, Serbia, 15 November 2016.
• Key Note Lecture at the Centre for European and International Legal Affairs (CEILA), Queen Mary University of London, 28 January 2016, co-lecturer Emanuela Matei.
• Participation at the debate regarding TTIP and ISDS organized by the Representation of the European Commission to Romania, 6 October 2015, Bucharest.
• Presentation of an international law study at the ​International Conference “Perspectives of Business Law in the Third Millennium“, November 15-16, 2013, Bucharest.

Contributions to Specialized Blogs/Cultural Press [selection]:​

• ​„EU member states divided in face of Commission crackdown on intra-EU ISDS“, BorderLex, 27 October 2016.
• „Diffusing the ‘Powder Keg’ through Regional Multilateralism: The Case for Investment Autarchy in the Balkans“, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 19 July 2016.
• „Intra-EU BITs in a Fragile Union: On Non-Papers and Other (Legal) Demons“, EFILA blog, 28 June 2016.
• „Dincolo de Atlantic: Breviar despre TTIP și necesitatea unui nou parteneriat“, Contributors.ro, 2 August 2016 [EN: Beyond the Atlantic: Brief Observations about TTIP and the Necessity of a New Partnership].
• „Across the Strait: The Case for a Special EU-Taiwan Trade and Investment Partnership“, EFILA blog, 3 May 2016.
• „Redefining the ‘Centre’: International Economic Law and Grand Strategy in a Multipolar World“, EFILA blog, 26 January 2016.
• „The Future of Investment Treaties: Metamorphosis or Deconstruction?“, EFILA blog, 8 September 2015.