TILPA - International Trade & Investment Law

1. InternationalTransactional Law

Advice on the law applicable to commercial transactions, including contract law, payment terms, International Commercial Terms (INCOTERMS), transfer and protection of intellectual and industrial property (IP) rights, penalty clauses and jurisdictional clauses, among others.  This includes international instruments such as the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) or other applicable contract law.

2. State Responsibility

Advice on actions or lack of action that could trigger State responsibilities in the relevant international agreements (treaty and contracts):

• Investment law, including discrimination (national treatment (NT), most favourable nation treatment MFN), fair and equitable treatment and expropriation under international investment agreements (IIAs), such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Energy Charter or specific bilateral investment treaty (BITs).  This includes government procurement.
• WTO law applicable to:
• trade in goods (regulatory barriers to trade, tariffs, quotas, trade remedies—antidumping duties, countervailing duties and Safeguards—internal taxes and other non-tax measures, investment measures, customs, among others);
• trade in services; and
• trade-related aspects of intellectual property (TRIPS).

3. Negotiation and Administration of Contracts and International Treaties

Negotiation of contracts (e.g., sales, distribution, franchises, joint ventures), international treaties or other international agreements (e.g., free trade agreements (PTAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs), or WTO agreements), both building up a strategy and implementing it at the negotiating table; assessment of the relevant legal texts in light of the applicable law; design practices on the administration of such agreements.

4. International Litigation

Advice on the law applicable to international litigation, including WTO litigation, Investment Arbitration, Commercial Arbitration and domestic litigation in coordination with domestic lawyers, or a strategy combining two of the above-mentioned fora. 

• Investment Arbitration: the Convention of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention), its additional facility rules, Special rules in international investment agreements (IIAs), and the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL Rules).
• WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding: Consultations, Panel, Appeal, Compliance procedures, arbitration to determine the reasonable period of time, and arbitration on the level of nullification or impairment.
• International Commercial Arbitration under different rules, such as International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), London International Court of Arbitration (LCIA) or ad hoc arbitration under UNCITRAL Rules. 
• Special procedures before administrative or judicial courts such as antidumping investigations, opposition of trademarks before intellectual and industrial property authorities, execution of arbitral awards, or annulment procedures against determinations by customs authorities.