Jean Ho

Jean Ho is Associate Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. Prior to joining academia, she practiced investor-State dispute settlement and general international arbitration with Shearman & Sterling LLP. Jean holds law degrees from New York University, l’Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Cambridge University, and is called to the Singapore and New York bars.

Jean has more than fifteen years of experience practising, researching, supervising, teaching, and publishing on international investment law and arbitration. She is a principal co-author of a leading textbook on the field, International Investment Law and Arbitration: Commentary, Awards, and Other Materials, with a second edition forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. This textbook has been cited with approval by the Colombian Constitutional Court as well as the Singapore Court of Appeal. Her first monograph, State Responsibility for Breaches of Investment Contracts, which is based on her doctoral thesis, is also published by Cambridge University Press, and is synopsized in English, French and Mandarin in the United Nations Audiovisual Library in International Law Lecture Series. In recognition of her expertise, Jean was nominated by the US State Department as an Expert to the UNIDROIT Working Group on Agricultural Land Investment Contracts. She has also been invited by the Singapore government to advise on the reform of the International Arbitration Act. Jean is an elected member of the Executive Council of the Asian Society of International Law, an appointed member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Asian Journal of International Arbitration, and an invited member of the Investment Treaty Forum at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

Jean’s areas of specialisation are contractual protection under international law, treaty interpretation, the law on State and investor responsibility, and foreign investment regulation. She has served as a reviewer for numerous manuscripts submitted to leading academic journals and leading university and independent presses, and has been invited to speak at prominent international conferences.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Associate counsel in SGS v Pakistan which involved a dispute brought under the Swiss-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty over payment due under a customs services inspection agreement. The tribunal in this case was the first to interpret an umbrella clause in an investment treaty.

• Associate counsel in SGS v Philippines which involved a dispute brought under the Swiss-Philippines bilateral investment treaty over payment due under a customs services inspection agreement.

• Associate counsel in Plama v Bulgaria which involved a dispute over the expropriation of an oil refinery brought under the Energy Charter Treaty and the Bulgaria-Cyprus bilateral investment treaty. The tribunal in this case was the first to interpret the Energy Charter Treaty in the context of an investor-State dispute.

• Associate counsel in a an investor-State dispute brought under the US-Egypt bilateral investment treaty over the expropriation of a garment factory.

• Co-counsel in a multimillion dollar transnational contractual dispute arbitrated under the London Court of International Arbitration Rules.

• Associate counsel in a multimillion dollar corporate restructuring dispute arbitrated under the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Rules.

• Investors’ International Law (Hart (Studies in International Trade and Investment Law), forthcoming 2021) (edited book) 350pp.

• ‘Contract Claims: Investment Arbitration’, Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (forthcoming 2020) 25 pp.

• ‘The Creation of Elusive Investor Responsibility’ (2019) 113 American Journal of International Law (AJIL Unbound) 10-15.

• ‘Hustling in International Economic Law’, 21 February 2020, online: https://www.afronomicslaw.org/2020/02/21/hustling-in-international-economic-law/

• International Investment Law and Arbitration (Cambridge University Press 2018; 2nd edition forthcoming 2021) (co-authored general treatise) 600pp.

• State Responsibility for Breaches of Investment Contracts (Cambridge University Press (Studies in International and Comparative Law), hardcover 2018; paperback 2020) (sole-authored monograph) 300pp.

• ‘Circumstantial Indicia in Treaty Interpretation’ (2017/8) ICSID Review – FILJ 67-73.

• ‘Investment Protection Under Successive Treaties’ (2017) 37(1) ICSID Review – FILJ 58-91.

• ‘The Evolution of Contractual Protection in International Law: Studying diplomatic archives, uncovering diplomatic practice, and writing diplomatic history’ in Stephan Schill, Christian Tams & Rainer Hofmann (eds), International Investment Law and History (Edward Elgar 2017) 213-240.

• ‘Applying the New York Convention in Singapore’, in George Bermann (ed), Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards – Application of the New York Convention by National Courts (Springer 2017) 813-834.

• ‘International Investment Arbitration’ (with C.L. Lim) in Oxford Bibliographies in International Law (Oxford University Press 2016) 35pp.

• ‘Internationalization and State Contracts: Are State Contracts the Future or the Past?’ in C.L. Lim (ed), Alternative Visions in the International Law on Foreign Investment: Essays in Honour of M Sornarajah (Cambridge University Press 2016) 377-402.

• ‘Unraveling The Lex Causae in Investment Claims’ (2014) 15 Journal of World Investment & Trade 757-778.

• ‘Singapore’ in Chester Brown (ed), Oxford Commentaries on International Law: Commentaries on Selected Model Investment Treaties (Oxford University Press 2013) 623-650.

• ‘Singapore’ in Wenhua Shan (ed), The Legal Protection of Foreign Investment – A Comparative Study (Hart Publishing 2012) 593-616.

• ‘Comparative Law and The Claim of Causation’ (2011) 2(2) Comparative Law Review 2.3 41pp.

• ‘The Meaning of “Investment” in ICSID Arbitrations’ (2010) 26(4) Arbitration International 633-648.

• ‘The Evolution of Legal Education in Singapore’ (2009) 44(3) Kyung Hee Law Journal 547-557.

• ‘Decoding Singapore’s International Arbitration Act, Section 12(7)’ (2008) 24(4) Arbitration International 609-615.

• The Role of the Domestic Law of the Host State in Determining the Jurisdiction ratione materiae of Investment Treaty Tribunals: The Partial Revival of the Localisation Theory? (sole-authored monograph), Brill (2020).

• ‘2019 Developments in Investment Treaty Arbitration’ (article), Yearbook for International Investment Law and Policy (2020).

• Demystifying Consent: The Jurisdictional Framework of Investment Treaty Arbitration Revisited (sole-authored monograph), Cambridge University Press (2019).

• Eurasian Perspectives on Integration into the WTO and the Global Economy (edited book), Cambridge University Press (2019).

• ‘(De-)Constitutionalization of International Investment Law?: Assessing Narratives from the Asia-Pacific’ (article) Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs (2019).

• ‘Human Rights and International Investment Agreements: How to Bridge the Divide?’ (article), Chinese Journal of Comparative Law (2019).

• ‘Investor-State Arbitration Under the CPTPP’ (article), New Zealand Yearbook of International Law (2019).

• Shareholder Claims for Reflective Loss in International Investment Law (sole-authored monograph), Cambridge University Press (2018).

• ‘Pharmaceutical Patent and Indirect Expropriation in Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) of Bangladesh’ (article), Asian Journal of International Law (2018).

• ‘Security for Costs in Investment Arbitration: from Myth to Reality’ (article), Singapore Law Review (2018).

• ‘A More Targeted Approach To Foreign Direct Investment: The Establishment Of Screening Systems On National Security Grounds’ (article), Melbourne Journal of International Law (2018).

• The Global ISDS Reform and Flexible Multilateralism: The Adaptation of the ISDS System and Prospects for a New Multilateral Investment Dispute Settlement System (sole-authored monograph), Cambridge University Press (2018).

• Contributory Fault Defences in International Investment Law (sole-authored monograph), Cambridge University Press (2018).

• Asian Perspectives on International Investment Law (edited book), Routledge (2018).

• Restoring Trust in Trade – Liber Amicorum in Honour of Peter van den Bossche (co-edited book), Cambridge University Press (2018).

• ‘Global Reform of Investor-State Arbitration: Implications of China’s Emergent Equilibrium’ (article), Chinese Journal of Comparative Law (2018).

• Regulation and Investment Disputes: Asian Perspectives (co-edited book), Cambridge University Press (2017).

• A Public Policy of International Law: A Study in General Principles (sole-authored monograph), Cambridge University Press (2016).

• ‘Rebalancing Investment Treaties and Investor-State Arbitration’ (review essay), Journal of World Investment and Trade (2016).

• ‘The Role of National Courts on the Recognition and Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards in Malaysia’ (article), Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law (2016).

• ‘Arbitral Praeliminaria: Reflections on the Distinction Between Admissibility and Jurisdiction after BG v Argentina’ (article), Leiden Journal of International Law (2015).

• ‘Rationalising the Burden of Establishing Defences at Criminal Law’ (article), Singapore Journal of Legal Studies (2015).

• ‘ICSID Annulment Procedure and the WTO Appellate System: The Case for an Appellate System for Investment Arbitration’ (article), Journal of International Dispute Settlement (2014).

• ‘Comprehensive or BIT by BIT: A Perspective of ASEAN from a Case Study of Indonesia’s BITs and the ACIA’ (article), Asian Journal of International Law (2014).

• ‘The Doctrine of Indirect Expropriation in the Singapore Context’ (article), Singapore Academy of Law Journal (2014).

• ‘Moral Damages Left in Limbo’ (article), McGill Journal of Dispute Resolution (2014).

• Legal Innovations in Asia: Judicial Law-Making and Influence in Comparative Law (edited book), Edward Elgar (2013-2014).

• ‘How not to become a (more) attractive place of arbitration – Lessons to be learnt from the Austrian Arbitration Act 2012’ (article), Korea Legislation & Research Institute Journal (2013).

• ‘A comparison of recent changes in the arbitral laws and regulations of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea’ (article), Korea Legislation & Research Institute Journal (2013).

• ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution in Financial Markets - Some More Equal than Others - Hong Kong’s proposed Financial Dispute Resolution Centre in the Context of Experience in the UK, US, Australia and Singapore’ (article), Asia-Pacific Rim Journal of Law & Policy (2012).

• ‘The Dallah Effect: Re-Examining the Significance of Issue Estoppel in Resisting Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Singapore’ (case note), Singapore Academy of Law Journal (2011).

• ‘Once Upon a Time in International Arbitration II: State Responsibility – Then and Now’ (invited panelist), International Council for Commercial Arbitration Congress 2020, 1-3 February 2021, Edinburgh, UK.

• ‘The Impact and Potential Impact of Trade and Investment Agreements on Domestic Law and the Duty to Protect’ (invited panelist), 6th Annual OECD Conference on Investment Treaties – Business Responsibilities and Investment Treaties, October 2020, Paris, France.

• Annual Energy Charter Treaty Forum, ‘The Promise of Arbitration: Enhancing International Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainability through Dispute Settlement’ (invited panellist), jointly organised by the PCA, ECT Secretariat, ICSID and the SCC, 20 November 2019, Singapore.

• ‘Epistemological Blindspots in International Economic Law’ (invited plenary session panelist), International Economic Law Collective Inaugural Conference, 6-7 November 2019, Warwick University, Coventry, UK.

• ‘Draft Zero of the Legal Guide to Land Agricultural Investment Contracts’ (invited speaker), UNIDROIT and China: The Cape Town Convention, Investing in Agriculture and UPICC, 8-9 July 2019, UIBE, Beijing, China.

• ‘Free Trade Agreements and Sustainability’ (invited panelist), ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Interregional Dialogue – Sharing Good Practices on Business and Human Rights, 10-11 June 2019, Bangkok, Thailand.

• ‘The Metamorphosis of Investment Treaties’ (invited panelist), Ethics and the Rule of Law in Investment Arbitration, BIICL Investment Treaty Forum and the Graduate School of International Development of Nagoya University, 1 June 2018, Tokyo, Japan.

• ‘When can Contracts be Expropriated?’ (invited solo presenter), SIAC-CIL Academic-Practitioner Colloquium, 15 May 2018, Singapore.

• United Nations Audiovisual Library on International Law Lecture Series (http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Ho_S.html), June 2016 and June 2017

1. ‘State Responsibility for Breaches of Investment Contracts’ 

2. ‘La responsabilité d’Etat et la rupture des contrats d’Etat’

3. 国际法对投资合约的保障.

• ‘The year in review’ (invited panelist), Third Annual Global Arbitration Review Live Singapore, 7 June 2017, Singapore.

• ‘Illegality, Jurisdiction and Admissibility’ (invited panelist), Twenty-Eighth Investment Treaty Forum Public Conference: Economic Crime and International Investment Law, 12 May 2017, London, United Kingdom.

• ‘The Future of Contract-Based Expropriation Claims’, Shearman & Sterling LLP Lunchtime Seminar (invited solo presenter), 8 May 2017, London, United Kingdom.

• ‘The Contours of Curial Support for Arbitration in Singapore’ (invited panelist), The Support of State Institutions for Arbitration in France and Singapore, 25 April 2017, Sciences Po and NUS Law, Paris, France.

• ‘The Future of Mega-Regionals’, (invited lecturer for Loukas Mistelis’ class), Queen Mary University School of Law, 15 February 2017, London, United Kingdom.

• ‘Investment Protection Under Successive Treaties’ (invited panelist), ICSID 50th Anniversary Conference, 24 June 2016, Paris, France.

• ‘The Evolution of Investment Contract Protection’ (invited panelist), KLRCA International Investment Arbitration Conference 10-11 March 2016, Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

• ‘The Singapore Perspective on Investment Treaties and Investment Chapters’ (invited panelist), ICSID 50th Anniversary Conference, 26 November 2015, International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes and Xi’An Jiaotong University School of Law, Xi’An, China PRC.

• ‘International Investment Law and Arbitration’ (invited faculty), National Chengchi University College of Commerce and Law, 3-4 December 2015, Taipei, Taiwan ROC.

• ‘Recent Trends in the Drafting and Interpretation of Investment Treaties’ (invited faculty), Pearl River Delta Academy of International Trade and Investment Law 15-6 July 2015, Institute of European Studies of Macau, Shenzhen, China PRC.

• ‘Privity in Investment Contract Claims’, Public International Law Seminar, 1 May 2014, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

• ‘The Evolution of Legal Education in Singapore’ (invited panelist), Current Issues and Future Tasks for Educating Lawyers in the Age of Globalization, 29-30 October 2009, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.