Professor Peter Cameron
LL.B, PhD, FCIArb
Director, Professor of International Energy Law and Policy, School Associate Dean Research
Peter Cameron is Director of the Centre and Professor of International Energy Law and Policy. He is also the Associate Dean for Research in the Graduate School of Natural Resources Law, Policy and Management. He is a Professorial Fellow of the Law School at the University of Edinburgh, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and member of the London Court of International Arbitration. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen book-length publications, the most recent being 'International Investment Law: The Pursuit of Stability' (Oxford University Press, 2010). He has given oral and/or written testimony in a number of international arbitrations on matters concerning petroleum contracts, taxation and gas issues. He has extensive international experience of drafting oil, gas and energy legislation and contracts in developing countries. Professor Cameron is the principal point of contact for the Centre’s multi-partner project, 'Good Practice in the Oil, Gas and Mining Industries', funded by the World Bank, which began in 2010.
His academic positions have also included: professor at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy; visiting professor at the University of Madrid (Autonoma) and Director of the International Institute of Energy Law in Leiden in the Netherlands.
Over a period of more than 30 years, Prof Cameron has been an adviser to the World Bank, the EBRD, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, companies, NGOs' and many governments in developing countries. He was the leader of several European Commission funded projects aimed at promoting the signature and ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty He has also been the leader or principal adviser in several projects aimed at approximation of national laws by applicant countries to the EU 'acquis communautaire'. He serves as a member of the Panel of Experts on oil and gas for the UK tax authority, the HMRC.
On Professor Cameron’s book, 'International Energy Investment Law: the Pursuit of Stability', reviewers have written:
From The Journal of World Energy Law and Business:
"Professor Cameron has done a thorough and impressive job of explaining the expansion of international investment law through bilateral and multilateral investment treaties and the increasing use of international arbitration to resolve these disputes. He paints a clear picture of the multi-tier regime of legal stability – contract, treaty and legislative – that energy companies have used in their investments and how States have tested it, often to the detriment of the investor."
"This book is presently the most comprehensive study of how energy companies seek stability in their investments, how States test that stability and how the resulting disputes are resolved. It is an excellent reference work for practitioners in the international investment arbitration world, but can also be used by transactional professionals for both investors and governments when they need to know what they must include and what they must avoid in international energy investments."
"This is a highly commendable book that should be included in the best oil & gas law and international arbitration libraries. ... Professor Cameron has eloquently captured what one would ever need to know about stabilization in international energy investments."
From OGEL:
"... an excellent contribution to the subject of international investment law as part of a growing field of international economic law. It is certainly worth studying and reading carefully."
From the book's Preface by Judge Steven Schwebel, formerly the President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague:
"Professor Peter Cameron portrays and analyses the search for stability through contract and through treaty… [He] carefully paints on a large canvas. The results will be of high interest to the student and practitioner of international energy law".
Professor Cameron's other recent publications cover the development of petroleum law and petroleum agreements in Iraq, and EU energy security in the light of the 2009 gas crisis with Russia and Ukraine. He is currently writing a chapter on stabilization clauses for the Oxford Yearbook of International Investment Law and Policy.
Research
Current research interests include the following:
- International investment law
- European energy law
- Climate change and energy law issues
Teaching
International Petroleum Law and Policy (On-Campus)
The main objective of the module is to provide an understanding of the main law and policy issues in the international petroleum industry, with an emphasis upon transactional agreements concluded between host government and oil company/investors.
Common and diverging objectives between the two parties and indeed among the international corporate and financial investors themselves are faced in a candid and practical way, with an emphasis upon ways of accommodating the interests of diverse stakeholders in the development of petroleum resources.
A brief introduction is provided to petroleum taxation issues. The module focuses upon problem-solving techniques in a variety of settings, noting the inputs of lawyers, economists, accountants, engineers and geologists.