Conference

Conference The Belt and Road Initiative

Date: Thursday 21 February 2019
Time: 13:00 - 17:30
Explanation: Free of charge: registration is free but spaces are limited. Registration via email until 14 February 2019: GLOBTAXGOV@LAW.leidenuniv.nl
Location: Schouwburgstraat
Schouwburgstraat 2
2511 VA The Hague
Room: Living Lab

The Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as ‘One Belt, One Road’ (“一带一路”; Yī dài Yī lù), is a People’s Republic of China (PRC) governmental initiative which chiefly draws inspiration from the ancient Silk Road (BRI). Often described as the largest matrix of infrastructure projects in the decades to come, the BRI’s professed aim is to strengthen international cooperation and growth through greater connectivity. The BRI comprises a myriad of projects to be implemented in the territories of 64 BRI participating states, in Northern Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The BRI’s impact is, and will likely remain for some time, an evolving subject: while, on one hand, the BRI has been addressed uncritically and even praised, on the other hand, skepticism over the BRI has also been raised, most notably in light of doubts over its long-term sustainability and potential debt issue.

In light of these developments and evolving views, this conference aims to provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities presented by the BRI from an interdisciplinary perspective, addressing both international politics and international relations aspects, and legal issues which might arise under the international law on tax, trade and dispute resolution.

Attendees

This seminar is addressed to academics, including junior and senior researchers, government officials, business representatives, among others. Registration is free, but spaces are limited. Attendees can registered via email.

Organisation

This conference is a cooperation of two European Research Council (ERC) Projects: GLOBTAXGOV researching on “A New Model of Global Governance in International Tax Law Making” and TRICI-LAW researching on “The Rules of Interpretation of Customary International Law”. In addition, this conference is organised by Leiden University in cooperation with Diego MejíaLemos, from the National University of Singapore, and the LeidenAsiaCentre.

Programme

	Time	Activity
	13:00 – 13:15	Registration
	13:15 – 13:50	Welcome and Introduction to the GLOBTAXGOV and TRICI-LAW Irma Johanna Mosquera Valderrama Associate Professor, Tax Law Department, Institute of Tax Law and Economics, Leiden University and Lead Researcher for the ERC- Funded a New Model of Global Governance in International Tax Law Making (GLOBTAXGOV) Project Panos Mekouris Adjunct Professor and Chair on Interpretation and Dispute Settlement in International Law at the University of Groningen and Lead Research for the ERC-Funded The Rules of Interpretation of Customary International Law (TRICI-LAW) Project
	13:50 – 14:20	Belt Road Initiative Moderator: Henk Vording (Institute of Tax Law and Economics, Leiden University Session One: Political and Foreign Relations Aspects Presentation by Joris Larik (Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University) and Jue Wang (Leiden AsiaCentre)
	14:20 – 14:45	Q&A
	14:45- 15:15	Session Two: Investment Law, International Law, Dispute Resolution Presentation by Diego Mejía-Lemos (Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore)and Panos Merkouris (Faculty of Law, University of Groningen)
	15:15- 15:30	Q&A
	15:30- 16:00	Coffee Break
	16:00- 16:30	Session Three: International Tax Law and interaction with Trade Law Presentation by Shaomei Chen (Institute of Tax Law and Economics , Leiden University), Anna Marhold (International Public Law, Leiden University), Irma Mosquera (Institute of Tax Law and Economics , Leiden University)
	16:30- 16:50	Q&A
	16:50- 17:30	Roundtable with Q&As- The BRI: Challenges and Opportunities All the speakers will participate in the round table
	17:30	Closing of Conference

More information and registration for The Belt Road Initiative Conference: