Jonathan Bonnitcha
Email: J.M.Bonnitcha@lse.ac.uk
Room: New Academic Building 6.34
Tel. 020-7955-7240
Jonathan Bonnitcha is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in
international investment law at the LSE. In 2012, he obtained the degree of
DPhil from the University of Oxford for a thesis titled ‘How much
substantive protection should investment treaties provide to foreign
investment?’ As a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he obtained the degrees of
MPhil, with Distinction, and BCL, with Distinction and the prize for
International Economic Law. Jonathan also holds the degrees of BEc and LLB
from the University of Sydney, where he was awarded the University Medal in
Political Economy and the Convocation Medal for the most outstanding
graduate of the university overall. He has worked on several investment
treaty arbitrations, both in private practice and as a government lawyer.
see also Jonathan Bonnitcha's SSRN page
Research interests
Jonathan’s primary research interest is international investment treaties. He is currently working on developing his DPhil thesis on this subject for publication by Cambridge University Press as a monograph in late-2013. The book will draw on economic theory, empirical evidence and a detailed legal analysis of provisions of existing investment treaties to consider the level of substantive protection that investment treaties should provide to foreign investment. The argument is that economic justifications for providing preferential legal protection to foreign investment are weaker than generally assumed, and that the grant of expansive rights to foreign investors through investment treaties entails significant policy costs. The book will consider the significance of this argument for the drafting and interpretation of investment treaties.
Jonathan’s research is highly relevant to governments reflecting on the drafting of investment treaties, including the European Commission, which is currently drafting a new European model investment treaty, and the United States, which is reviewing its treaty practice. His research was extensively cited by the Australian Productivity Commission in its recent review of Australian policy on investment treaties.
Jonathan also has a research interest in business and human rights, particularly in the scope and implementation of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights as articulated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
External Activities
-
Admitted as a lawyer in the jurisdiction of NSW (Australia)
-
Involved in a variety of pro bono activities, which have included legal research for Amnesty International and Oxford Pro Bono Publico
