Filippo Fontanelli

About/Bio

Filippo Fontanelli is Senior Lecturer in International Economic Law at the University of Edinburgh’s Law School, and Adjunct Professor at LUISS, Rome and the Universidad La Sabana in Bogota. Dr Fontanelli served as academic fellow on international trade law with the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre and adviser to the Europe and External Affairs Committee (2018-2020) and co-rapporteur of the ILA Committee on the procedure of international tribunals. He acts as counsel and legal expert before international courts and tribunals, and as consultant for the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission.

Recently Published

Shunning Conventional Wisdom – Italian Courts and State Immunity in Employment Disputes

Introduction  On State immunity in civil proceedings, Italian courts have been pathbreakers, for better or worse. The Italian Supreme Court, in the 50s, developed the restrictive theory of State immunity, now accepted as custom (Ronzitti, Venturini). More recently, Italian courts have poked holes in immunity for international crimes in civil proceedings (Ferrini v Germany,…

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The Disputes Between Armenia and Azerbaijan: The CERD Compromissory Clause as a One-way Ticket to Hague

Introduction In September 2021, Armenia and Azerbaijan lodged each against the other an application before the International Court of Justice (Court) (ArA and AzA). Both applications refer to alleged breaches of the 1966 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), using its compromissory clause (Article 22) to establish the…

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Foreign control and ICSID jurisdiction on Energy Charter Treaty Claims of Local Companies: The Eskosol Case

The ICSID tribunal in Eskosol in liquidazione v. Italy rejected Italy’s Rule 41.5 application to have the claim thrown out for being “manifestly without legal merit.” I offer a summary and some reflections on two interesting aspects on the tribunal’s jurisdiction. Background The claimant challenged, under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), Italy’s 2011…

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