Brief Bio

Emmanuel Giakoumakis focuses his practice on public international law, with an emphasis on international investment law and state-to-state adjudication. He has significant experience in international dispute settlement, covering state-to-state litigation (ICJ), investor-state arbitration (ICSID and UNCITRAL), and human rights litigation before international courts (ECtHR, IACtHR).

Prior to joining Steptoe, Emmanuel was the legal advisor to H.E. Judge Yusuf, the former President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). During his time at the ICJ, Emmanuel worked on more than 20 state-to-state disputes in different phases of the proceedings and advised the Presidency of the Court on institutional, budgetary, and administrative matters under the UN Charter and the Statute of the Court.

Prior to joining the ICJ, Emmanuel worked as a lawyer in private practice in the United Kingdom and Greece. During that time, Emmanuel acted as counsel to both investors and sovereign States in multiple investment treaty arbitrations, notably the Governments of Croatia and Egypt in cases under the ICSID arbitration rules. Emmanuel has also advised foreign investors in disputes before the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice and domestic courts on European tax law, public law and investment protection. He previously worked with the Council of Europe’s Liaison Office to the European Union (EU) in Brussels, advising on the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Emmanuel has taught public international law as a guest lecturer at the University of Oxford, the University of Essex, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Athens and the European Public Law Organization. He is in the process of completing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Oxford focusing on the standard of compensation under customary law. His main research interests focus on international dispute settlement, State responsibility, European economic integration, international trade and investment law.

Emmanuel has also given lectures and seminars at the Institut International des Droits de l’Homme in Strasbourg and the Hague Academy of International Law. In 2014, he was awarded the Diploma of International Law and Comparative Human Rights Law.

Emmanuel has published and spoken at various international conferences in the fields of international investment law and public international law. He is a rapporteur for the Oxford Reports on International Organizations and, from 2018 to 2022, he was the principal legal researcher for the revised 2nd edition of “International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution — A Practitioner’s Guide”.

Courses taught at CTLS

  • Introduction to International Investment Law (Fall 2022)