CETA List Project Demonstrates Gender Disparities in Arbitral Appointments for Trade & Investment Disputes

The Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) List project demonstrated that there are occasions where appointing bodies have failed to give women the same opportunities to obtain arbitral appointments as men. Simply put, there are more than enough exceptionally and highly qualified women who are available to serve as arbitrators in trade and investment disputes. Appointment disparities cannot be explained by reference to skills, training, or experience. (ICCA Report No. 8, page 56-57, here). 

In January 2020, Dr. Katherine Simpson argued that every gender imbalance in a treaty roster can be corrected and presented to the EU and Canada with the names, email addresses, and brief bios of 70 women whose experience matched at least one person on the CETA List, see here.

Today, the European Commission announced that it will improve gender balance in trade and investment arbitration! The European Commission is now calling for arbitrators and has set up a new system to assist it in candidate selection. All of the information is on the website of the European Commission, available here.

Today’s announcement comes roughly six months after the European Commission’s announcement that it would reflect on gender equality in international trade, see here.

Benjamin Davis

Professor Benjamin Davis, who retired in 2021, was a faculty member at the University of Toledo School of Law since 2003 and tenured since 2008. He is a graduate of Harvard College (B.A.), Harvard Law School (J.D), and Harvard Business School (M.B.A.) where he was Articles Editor of the Harvard…