Arman MELIKYAN

• Current position

  Arman Melikyan is a Doctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg Center for European Law. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Luxembourg and Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium).

• Research

  Within the framework of his PhD research, Arman is examining the effectiveness of dispute settlement and compliance mechanisms under the trade and sustainable development chapters of free trade agreements (FTAs). His work offers a critical comparative analysis of these chapters, focusing on their substantive, institutional, and procedural dimensions. The research highlights the weaknesses of these frameworks in the contemporary international legal order and proposes potential reforms.

  His broader research interests and current publications encompass various topics in international trade and investment law, WTO law, EU law, dispute settlement, and sustainable development.

• Awards/ Distinctions
  • European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Scholarship for LL.M. Studies at the College of Europe from the European Commission (2018-2019)
  • Scholarship for Academic Excellence for LL.M. Studies at Public Administration Academy of Armenia from the Government of Armenia (2016-2018)
  • Scholarship for Academic Excellence for LL.B. Studies at French University in Armenia/Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University from KASA Swiss Humanitarian Foundation (2015-2016), French University in Armenia (2013-2016), Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) (2012-2013)

• Work experience

  His previous academic and professional activities include the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Swiss Institute for Comparative Law, the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of Armenia, Enhesa EHS Compliance Intelligence (Brussels) and the European Parliament.

  From 2021 to 2024, he conducted his doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law and was a member of the International Max Planck Research School for Successful Dispute Resolution.

• Educational background

  Arman holds an advanced Master’s degree (LL.M.) in European law from the College of Europe (2019). He also holds an LL.M. from Public Administration Academy of Armenia (2018) and a dual LL.B. in French and Armenian law from Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University and French University in Armenia (2016).

• Third-Party Participation in International Investment Arbitration” in Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer and Thomas Cottier (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law (forthcoming 2025).
• “Carve-Out Clauses in International Investment Agreements” in Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer and Thomas Cottier (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law (forthcoming 2025).
• “Dispute Settlement Procedures: Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters of Free Trade Agreements” in Hélène Ruiz Fabri (ed), Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law, Oxford University Press, October 2023
• (with Lena Hornkohl) “An Unfriendly ISDS for a Friend of the Court? the Extent of Amicus Curiae Participation in Environmental Investment Disputes” (March 31, 2022). (forthcoming in The Journal of World Investment & Trade, 2025).
• Arman  Melikyan, Lena  Hornkohl, ‘Legitimizing ISDS: Can Third-Parties Advance Sustainability Interests?‘, (2025), 10, European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, Issue 1, pp. 45-78
• “The Legacy of Opinion 1/17: To What Extent Is the Autonomous EU Legal Order Open to New Generation ISDS?”, European Papers Journal on Law and Integration, Vol. 6, 2021, No 1, pp. 645-673

Presentations in conferences, seminars and workshops

• Doctoral Thesis Work-in-Progress Presentation  (13^th Edition of the Intensive Doctoral Week, Science Po Paris, 10-14 June 2024)
• “Integration and Empowerment through Procedure: Can Dispute Settlement and Enforcement Proceedings under Free Trade Agreements Reinforce Compliance with Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters?” (7^th Annual Max Planck Law PhD Workshop, Berlin, 29-30 October 2023)
• “It Takes Two to Tango: The Dialectical Juxtaposition of Hard and Soft Legalisation Methods in Shaping Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters” (Visiting Researcher Seminar Series, Institut Suisse de Droit Comparé, 27 June 2023)
• “Arbitrating Sustainability Disputes under EU Free Trade Agreements” (NIPPON/ITLOS Skill Building Conference, Max PIanck Institute Luxembourg, 13 December 2022)
• “Legitimisation through Participation: Can Third-Party Participation Cure the Sustainable Development Wounds of ISDS?” (PhD Workshop on Human Rights and Investment Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 27- 28 October 2022)
• “Substantive and Procedural Aspects of Sustainable Development Standards in International Investment Law” (Research Seminar for Centre for Energy Law, University of Aberdeen, 26 October 2022)
• “An Unfriendly ISDS for A Friend of the Court? The Extent of Amicus Curiae Participation in Environmental Investment Disputes” (SHIELD Colloquium on International Investment Law and Environmental Protection, University of Copenhagen, 6-7 October 2022)
• “Diversity of Environmental Provisions in Free Trade Agreements: To What Extent Does Environmental Rule of Law Govern the Free Trade?” (2022 (3rd) International Environmental Law Conference “The Transformative Power of Law: Addressing Global Environmental Challenges”, University of Oslo, 3-5 October, 2022)
• Moderation of the Keynote speech of ECtHR Judge Armen Harutyunyan “Erosion of Democracies and the ECHR: The Coping Mechanisms of the Strasbourg Court to Preserve the European Order of Human Rights against Modern Day Challenges” (First Max Planck Law Conference for Young European Scholars 2022 on Methodological Pluralism in European Law, MPI Luxembourg, 14 July 2022)
• “Evaluating and Rethinking Compliance with Sustainable Development Standards of Free Trade Agreements through Effective Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Mechanisms” (International Max Planck Research School for Successful Dispute Resolution Conference, MPI Luxembourg, 12 July 2022) – (with Lena Hornkhol)
• “Legitimisation through Participation: Can Third-Party Participation Cure the Sustainable Development Wounds of ISDS?” (2nd Buceruis Conference on International Investment Law and Arbitration, Hamburg, Germany, 2 April 2022) – (with Lena Hornkohl)
• “An Unfriendly ISDS for A Friend of the Court? The Extent of Amicus Curiae Participation in Environmental Investment Disputes” (SHIELD Colloquium on International Investment Law and Environmental Protection, Online, 10 December 2021)