Philipp Kehl’s Post

Last week, the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition came to an end. The conclusion of this year’s International Rounds also marks the official end of my three-year stint as a coach for Bucerius Jessup Moot Court, and therefore – as far as active involvement with a particular team is concerned – the end of my personal Jessup journey, which began as a participant in 2020/2021. While this certainly does not mean that my involvement with the moot will cease altogether – future mooties: prepare yourselves to be pinned on the high-ball legal issues by Judge Kehl! – it is a good moment to take a breath and to look back. I am deeply grateful for the amazing coaching I received at the hands of Lukas Reichl and Katia Hamann and the time spent with the best teammates in the world, Johanna Schleyer, Svenja Kantelhardt and Laleh Eimaq. I will also never forget the many funny moments with my co-coaches Giuseppe Castellucci and Jonas Kurz (who, I believe, is still looking for the Mickeys). John Faulk, who has a reputation as the go-to Jessup rhetorics coach in Germany for a reason, of course also deserves a mention here. Most importantly: I am immensely proud of Rosalie Bamberg, Lisa Dumke, Fiona Werner, Elisa Wilhelm, Lina Tölle, Timon Weiler, Nikita Peck, Bruno Brugger, Franziska Schöche, Henriette Hoppe, Lieve Münte and Katharina Dodel. It was an honor and a privilege to be your coach and to be a part of what you achieved. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to the fantastic people I met during the last four years, and with whom I shared moments, memes, drinks, slightly awkward small talk while waiting for the results of a pleading, and so much more. Unfortunately, I cannot mention all of you here – but I believe those who I am referring to will feel addressed. I hope to meet many of you again in the Judges' Room in the years to come.

Two major multinational subsidy schemes, IPCEI #Hy2Infra and IPCEI CIS, have recently been approved by the EU Commission under Article 107(3)(b) TFEU's exception for "Important projects of common European interest" (#IPCEI|s). But how do these IPCEIs work, and what are the conditions for their approval? What role do they have to play in the context of the EU's response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (#IRA)? And what are the implications of these decisions for the future practice of the Commission? Christopher Montgomery Vollert and I try to answer these questions in this recently published piece on EU Law Live (EULL). Thanks to David Pérez de Lamo for his valuable feedback and support during the publication process.

The EU Commission has now called upon the Member States to greenlight the reform proposal to the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (#ECT) before withdrawing from the treaty in a coordinated manner. This step is likely to put an end not only to about two years of legal limbo since the reform proposal was originally agreed on, but also to the ECT investment protection regime as we know it. But what are the legal consequences of this decision for the reform process - and for climate protection? What will happen to arbitrations that are already ongoing, and what protection will investors enjoy with regard to investments they have already made? Sebastian Wuschka and I have taken a closer look at the Agreement in Principle (AIP) on the ECT reform and provide answers to some of these pressing questions in this analysis, which has been under preparation for longer. Our piece is available in the recent edition of ZEuS and freely accessible here: https://lnkd.in/e_fwxpbi #ectreform

Consider donating! Ukraine's National Champion and Runner-Up deserve the same chance to represent their country in Washington, D.C. that teams from any other country have. Do not let a war of aggression deprive promising young jurists of the chance to practice the very thing that is being trampled on by the Russian invaders: International Law.

Happy to announce that I have received a letter of admission from the Hague Academy of International Law! This summer from July to August, I will be participating in the Academy's summer courses on Private International Law. I am particularly looking forward to the lectures on the issues of Non-ICSID Convention ISDS Awards in Domestic Courts by Prof. Jack Coe and the Effects of Economic Sanctions on Private Legal Relationships by Prof. Alessandra Zanobetti. And on top of that: I will finally get to visit the Peace Palace 😄

Merits Judgment in the other Ukraine v. Russia case (concerning the ICSFT and the CERD) on Wednesday, Preliminary Objections in the Genocide Convention case on Friday. Looks like we are in for one hell of a week.

Excited to share my first blog post on EJIL: Talk! 🚀 While the recent hearing in the South Africa v. Israel case was bringing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) back into the headlines, the discussion about seizing Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine heated up. In this post, I shed some light on the dispute settlement options available to Russia if asset seizures are implemented, including the prospect of a case before the ICJ and resort to investment arbitration. One of the most important takeaways: It will be difficult for Russia to fight a confiscation of its assets in court without risking to be held accountable for the numerous crimes committed by its troops in Ukraine. #disputeresolution #russianassets #ukraine #icj

Heute, 15:30 Uhr, Jungfernstieg