The Role of International Arbitral Tribunals in Post-Conflict Dispute Resolution

Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Tom Snider of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington, DC will speak on "The Role of International Arbitral Tribunals in Post-Conflict Dispute Resolution." Drawing on his experience as counsel to the Government of Ethiopia before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, a tribunal established to adjudicate state-to-state claims for loss, damage, and injury arising from violations of international law during the 1998-2000 armed conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Mr. Snider will discuss the mechanics of such tribunals and the challenges of adjudicating claims before them.

He will also address the contributions that the arbitral process can make in stabilizing post-conflict relations between states and lessons learned from the Ethiopia-Eritrea experience for future parties and tribunals.  Snacks will be served at this event.

In his current position, Mr. Snider has represented foreign states and corporate entities in a wide range of matters involving international law and dispute resolution.  From 2001 to 2009, he was a member of the legal team representing the Government of Ethiopia before the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC), an international tribunal adjudicating state-to-state claims for loss, damage, and injury arising during an international armed conflict, including claims based on the unlawful use of force and international humanitarian law.  In this context, he worked as a resident attorney in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for nearly three years, managing several aspects of the case.

Mr. Snider has written and spoken on various international legal issues, including a book that he is co-authoring on the EECC entitled Litigating War: Arbitration of Civil Injury by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission to be published in early 2013 by Oxford University Press.  He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he served as the Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

This event is co-sponsored by Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs and the School of International Affairs.