Giammarco Rao is a Lecturer within the School of Law at The University of Bolton. His research primarily focuses on International Arbitration, International Commercial Law, Public International Law, International Economic Law, Legal History, Legal Theories, and Legal Argumentation.

As an Ilse Schmitthoff Research Fellow, he is currently completing a PhD in Public International Law from Queen Mary University of London, where he also completed a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution with Distinction. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Libera Università degli Studi Sociali LUISS Guido Carli.

As an academic, before joining the University, he lectured for six years at different universities, including Queen Mary University of London and the University of Macerata.

As a practitioner, he is a next-generation arbitrator and senior tribunal secretary with over a decade of international arbitration experience in commercial, investment treaty, and public international law disputes. He is well versed in civil and common law procedures, having worked on disputes seated in jurisdictions across the globe, including in Africa, the USA, Latin America, and Europe. He has often been involved in high-value and complex matters administered by ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, and the PCA.

He is the assistant editor of the World Arbitration Report (‘WAR’) and the co-chair of the UK Chapter of the Co-chair of the UK Chapter of AIA, the Italian Arbitration Association. He is also an alum of Fordham Law School.

He is the research culture lead for REF2029, the research lead, and a core member of the GMBS Centre of Excellence: Bolton Centre for Environmental Justice & Human Sustainability (BOLCEJHS).

Research Interests and Research Subject Specialisms:
1. International Arbitration
2. International Commercial Law
3. Public International Law, International Economic Law
4. Legal History
5. Legal Theories
6. Legal Argumentation

Teaching specialisms:
1. International Dispute Resolution
2. Public International Law
3. International Business Law
4. International Investment Law
5. Legal Research Methods
6. Legal Argumentation
7. Family Law

Publications and Research:
• Co-authored with Loukas Mistelis, ‘The Judicial Solutions to the Arbitrator’s Dilemma: Does the ‘Extension’ of the Arbitration Agreement to Non-Signatories Threaten the Enforcement of the Award’ (2022) 39 (2) Journal of International Arbitration, 351-364.
• Co-authored with Caroline Croft, ‘States and Investors’ Views on ISDS Reforms – Closer than One Would Expect’ (2021) 6 European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, 339-354.
• Co-authored with Loukas Mistelis, ‘Multilateral Principles in a Bilateral World: Mandatory or Consensual Multilateralism in International Investment Law?’ (2021) 1 Italian Review of International and Comparative Law, 59-85.
• Co-authored with Sophie Napper, ‘The enforcement of International Arbitration Awards: Synergy and Complementarity of Enforcement Mechanisms' in Sherlin Tung, Fabricio Fortese, Crina Baltag, Finances in International Arbitration: Liber Amicorum Patricia Shaughnessy (Kluwer Law International, 2019) 347-368.
• ‘The Withdrawal of a European State from the ECT in Light of the Achmea Case: When an Investor May Bring a Claim Against the European Union? 3 (2018) European Investment Law and Arbitration Review, 154-182.

Blogs
• ‘ICSID and Non-ICSID Awards’ in Jus Mundi, available at https://jusmundi.com/en/document/wiki/en-icsid-and-non-icsid-awards.
• LIDW 2021: Corporate Counsel Roundtable on the Top Priorities when Navigating Global Disputes: http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2021/05/13/lidw-2021-corporate-counsel-roundtable-on-the-top-priorities-when-navigating-global-disputes/.
• LIDW 2021: Challenges and Opportunities in Investor-State Dispute Settlement: http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2021/05/20/lidw-2021-challenges-and-opportunities-in-investor-state-dispute-settlement/.
• Investors’ Views on the ISDS Reform: QMUL Investment Arbitration: http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2019/12/10/investors-views-on-the-isds-reform-qmul-investment-arbitration-survey/.
• Diversity and Intergenerationality – Report on the Seminar ‘OGEMID and TDM past, present and future: a celebration’ http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2018/05/20/diversity-and-intergenerationality/.

RESEARCH PROJECTS
• ‘Reforming Investor-State Dispute Settlement and Promotion of Trade and Investment Cooperation- Task Force 1 Trade, Investment, and Growth’ available at https://t20saudiarabia.org.sa/en/briefs/Pages/Policy-Brief.aspx?pb=TF1_PB7.
• 2020 International Arbitration Survey: Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), available at http://www.arbitration.qmul.ac.uk/media/arbitration/docs/QM-CCIAG-Survey-ISDS-2020.pdf.

Professional Online Profile Links:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giammarco-rao-b6bb7b150/

Affiliations
• GMBS Centre of excellence: Bolton Centre for Environmental Justice & Human Sustainability (BOLCEJHS)
• Member of Young ITA
• Member of YIAG

Bar Admissions
• Italian Bar (2016)
• European Registered Lawyer (now Foreign Registered Lawyer) with the SRA since 2019