European Commission appoints Joris Larik to pool of arbitrators
The European Commission has appointed Dr. Joris Larik, Assistant Professor of Comparative, EU and International Law at Leiden University College The Hague, to a new pool of individuals ‘suitable for appointment as arbitrator’ in the framework of the European Union’s bilateral trade agreements.
The list is the result of a new selection mechanism that aims to address demands from stakeholders and the European Parliament for a more transparent, independent and inclusive process. Dr. Larik had been nominated to be included in this list by the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in 2021. Subsequently, an independent selection panel of experienced international judges and academics, nominated by the European Parliament, the Council, Member States, and the Commission, assessed applicants' individual suitability for appointment.
The European Commission will draw on the new pool to make proposals for the appointment of arbitrators and trade and sustainable development experts in specific cases, or for pre-agreed lists ("rosters") under the relevant bilateral agreements with third countries. The Council of the EU will then make the final decision on such rosters.
In addition to Dr. Larik, several colleagues from Leiden Law School’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies were included in the new lists published by the European Commission as well: Prof. Eric De Brabandere, Dr. Anna-Alexandra Marhold, and Prof. Nico Schrijver.
Joris Larik is Assistant Professor of Comparative, EU and International Law and member of Young Academy Leiden. His research focuses on EU external relations law and global governance and has received several awards. Dr. Larik is the author and editor of several books, including with Oxford and Cambridge University Press. Moreover, he has published in leading international journals, including American Journal of International Law, Common Market Law Review, European Law Review, International & Comparative Law Quarterly, Survival, and Yearbook of European Law, and in leading national journals, including Nederlands Juristenblad and SEW–Tijdschrift voor Europees en economisch recht. Dr. Larik provides high-level legal and policy advice and regularly appears in the international and national media.