Mr. Horia Ciurtin joined the Amsterdam Center of International Law as an external PhD Candidate. He is a legal adviser in the field of international investment law and international arbitration; Managing Editor of the EFILA Blog which appears under the auspices of the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (Brussels). He is also an Expert for New Strategy Center (Bucharest), a prominent Romanian think-tank in the field of strategy and international relations. In 2017, he co-founded DAVA | Strategic Analysis, a think-tank providing in-depth strategic, cultural and geoeconomic analyses.

Bachelor of Laws (2011), Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Master of Laws in “European and National Business Law” (2012), Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, as valedictorian. In 2014, he was awarded with the Honorable Mention in the Nappert Prize in International Arbitration and International Commercial Law (organized by McGill University).

Author of two books, numerous chapters in collective volumes, as well as of multiple studies and policy papers in domestic and international academic journals, in the field of international law and international relations, constitutional law and legal philosophy.

Selected Publications

Contributions to edited volumes:

• “A New Era in Cross-Strait Relations? A Post-Sovereign Enquiry in Taiwan’s Investment Treaty System”, in Julien Chaisse (ed.), China's Investment Three-Prong Strategy: The Bilateral, Regional, and Global Tracks, Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2018.
• “Paradoxes of (Sovereign) Consent: On the Uses and Abuses of a Notion in International Investment Law”, in Crina Baltag (ed.), ICSID Convention After 50 Years: Unsettled Issues, Kluwer International, 2017.
• “A Hermeneutical Perspective upon the ‘Mitigation of Damages’ Principle: The Metamorphosis of a Concept in International Law”, in Andrea K. Bjorklund (ed.), Nappert Prize in International Arbitration, ICC/McGill, Paris, 2015.

Academic articles:

• “When Westphalia Goes to (Greater) China: Territory, Sovereignty and Legal Narratives across the Strait”, Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies, Volume 5, No. 1, Winter/Spring 2018.
• “Turning Enemies into Adversaries: TTIP Negotiations and the Quest for a New Westphalia Momentum”, The Turkish Commercial Law Review, Volume 2, Issue 1 (Summer 2016) (co-author: Emanuela Matei).
• “Lights and Shadows of the WTO-Inspired International Court System”, European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, Volume 1/2016 (co-authors: Filippo Fontanelli, Koorosh Ameli, Ilias Bantekas, Nikos Lavranos, Mauro Rubino-Sammartano, Emma Spiteri Gonzi).
• “Beyond the Norm: The Hermeneutic Function of Treaty Preambles in Investment Arbitration and International Law”, Revista Romana de Arbitraj [Romanian Arbitration Review], No. 4/2015.
• “Tendinte europene in dreptul investitiilor: competente, standarde de protectie si aplicații arbitrale”, Revista Romana de Arbitraj [Romanian Arbitration Review], Anul 11 / Nr. 1 ianuarie-martie 2017, Volumul 41 [EN: European Trends in Investment Law: Competence, Protection Standards and Arbitral Reflections].

Policy Papers, Reports:

• "The Emergence of a European project. Three Summits for the Three Seas Initiative", New Strategy Center/OSW (July 2018), report by Kamil Calus, Horia Ciurtin, Gheorghe Magheru, Izel Selim (ed.).
• "A Dragon in the Powder Keg: China’s Mercantile Quest in the Balkans", New Strategy Center (May 2018).
• "A Pivot to Europe: China's Belt-and-Road Balancing Act", European Institute of Romania, Policy Brief no. 5 (December 2017).
• "A Delicate Sense of (Economic) Balance:Turkey, Russia and the Other Strategic Map”, New Strategy Center, Policy Brief (June 2017).
• "Strategic Challenges in South East Europe and the Black Sea Area", New Strategy Center (Bucharest) - IRMO (Zagreb), Policy Paper, February 2017, report by Cosmin Ioniță (coord.), Sergiu Celac, Horia Ciurtin, Sandro Knezović, Miruna Troncotă.
• "Left Behind? Reassessing the Balkan Quest for EU Integration", European Institute of Romania, Policy Briefs Series, No. 2 (2017).
• "EFILA Task Force Paper regarding the proposed International Court System (ICS)", report by Koorosh Ameli, Ilias Bantekas, Horia Ciurtin, Filippo Fontanelli, Nikos Lavranos, Mauro Rubino- Sammartano and Emma Spiteri Gonzi, January 2016.