Guillaume François Larouche
GEM-DIAMOND doctoral fellow
ESR 8 – Technocratic actors as ‘teachers’ of the rule of law: EU technical assistance, capacity-building and other pathways
As a member of GEM-DIAMOND, I am fortunate to enter a world of critical thinking and to join a community of researchers whose purpose is to produce empirical, scientific & data-driven legal research to understand normative tensions caused by mounting dissensus over liberal democracy within the European Union and the rise of alternative models outside its borders.
International Courts (Trans)formations: The Role of European Lawyers in the 'Fabrique' of the International Criminal Court and the Proposed Multilateral Investment Court
Supervisors
- Mikael Madsen
- Jean-Frederic Morin
- Chloé Brière
Research abstract
Research Question(s)
Research Hypothesis(es)
Selected Case Studies
In the regulatory area of human rights, the EU recently launched its Global Europe Human Rights and Democracy (2021) programme which aims to promote European values around the world, including fundamental freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law (Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2021). As part of this initiative, the High Representative/Vice- President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, has made it clear that upholding the rule of law through participation in the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law (Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2021, 125-30) and support for the authority of the ICC (and other international criminal, ad hoc tribunals and truth and reconciliation commissions) are essential for the EU: “[t]he EU calls on all States to cooperate with the ICC and abide by their commitments to uphold the rule of law, whether at the ICC or in their national courts” (Council of the EU 2021). To this end, the EU is providing political, diplomatic, and financial support to the ICC, especially in the form of capacity building tools, and technical and regulatory assistance. The main capacity building activities offered by the EU include seminars, events, and trainings “aimed at fostering cooperation, sharing expertise and building national capacity” (Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2021, 129). Technical and regulatory assistance provided by the EU includes the development of legal tools for countries wishing to implement the Rome Statute to assist their legal professionals working on major international crimes, as well as the placement of legal professionals from ‘situation countries’ in the ICC Visiting Professionals Programme (Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2021, 129).
In the area of trade and investment, the EU has made clear its vision that trade and investment are inseparable from its core values and principles through its Trade for All strategy (2015). Recently, in response to the contestation and dissent over the EU-US negotiations around the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the EU modified its approach and policy regarding dispute settlement in international investment (Coman 2022). After having traditionally supported the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, the EU is responding to criticism and rejection of ISDS (Miles 2013) by proposing a new institutionalized dispute-settlement mechanism, the Investment Court System. After having implemented such ICS in its recent investment agreements with third States (e.g. CETA, EU-Vietnam , and EU-Singapore), the EU now militates for the implementation of a MIC through its participation to the UNCITRAL Working Group III on ISDS Reform. This proposal is a direct response to mounting dissensus over the international regime for the protection and promotion of foreign investment, in which investors have sued states, resulting in payouts of millions (and even billions) of dollars from the losing states (see e.g., Yukos Universal v Russia, 2005). Through their participation in the Working Group III, European lawyers are using socialisation instruments to influence other countries (including allies) to follow the EU approach. For example, they are using capacity-building activities and organize meetings and presentations with stakeholders to promote EU policy (European Commission, n.d.).
Social Relevance of your Research
An affiliated PhD researcher with the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy at Université Laval, with the Centre de recherche en droit public de l'Université de Montréal, and with the Centre de droit européen de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles, Guillaume François holds a Master of Laws (LLM) with Concentration in International Trade and Foreign Investment from the University of Ottawa (for which he received the mention “Excellent”), a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Université Laval, and an advanced certificate in French and European Law from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas.
In addition to his doctoral research, he is currently working on a book chapter preliminary entitled “ Policy trends and options for the future relationship between international tax and investment law” with Prof. Wolfgang Alschner of the University of Ottawa. He presented previous research results on the international norm against corruption as a candidate for jus cogens at the Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference in Scotland (UK) and on the potential adaptation of the WTO legal paradigm on “like” products to include environmental considerations at the 5th Annual McGill Law Graduate Conference in Montreal (Canada).
He is a member of the Barreau du Québec since January 2020 and practices public law at Langlois Lawyers LLP in Montreal.
Besides his research interests and law practice, Guillaume François is interested in history, visual arts, French literature, travel, outdoor activities, and sports (swimming, running, cycling, yoga, and cross-country skiing).
Larouche, Guillaume François. 2022. "International Courts (Trans)formations: The Role of European Lawyers in the 'Fabrique' of the International Criminal Court and the Proposed Multilateral Investment Court", presented at the First GEM DIAMOND Annual Conference, Brussels, 14 March 2023 [unpublished].
Larouche, Guillaume François. 2022. “International Economic Law and Peremptory Norms. The Norm Against Corruption, a Manifestation of a (Quasi) Jus Cogens?”, presented at the Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference 2022, Edinburgh, 16 June 2022 [unpublished].
Larouche, Guillaume François. 2022. “Adapting the WTO Legal Paradigm on ‘Like’ Products to Include Environmental Considerations: Towards a Green World Trade Organization”, presented at the 15th Annual McGill Law Graduate Conference, Montréal, 5 May 2022 [unpublished].
Forthcoming Publications
Alschner, Wolfgang and Guillaume François Larouche, “Policy trends and options for the future relationship between international tax and investment law” in Robert Danon, Sebastian Wuschka and Andreas R. Ziegler, eds, Tax Issues in International Investment Arbitration (Lausanne: Kluwer Law, forthcoming).
Larouche, Guillaume François, "Language and legal discourse at the confluence of international arbitration and the domestic judiciary", [forthcoming].
Larouche, Guillaume François. “International Economic Law and Peremptory Norms. The Norm Against Corruption, a Manifestation of a (Quasi) Jus Cogens?”, [forthcoming].
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The GEM-DIAMOND’s First Policy AGORA Forum and Citizen Innovation Lab
21 February 2023
A Primer on Policy Work, Local Activism and the Role of Academia in Engaging Dissensus
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Birth of the GEM-DIAMOND Fellowship of the Ph.D.
1 October 2022
16 MSCA Fellows successfully selected following a gruelling selection process.