Blackburn Chambers

Australian

Australia

Canberra

Investor-State arbitration (investment treaties and contracts)
International commercial arbitration
State-State / public international law disputes

English

PhD (King's College London), LL.M.(Hons) (Cambridge), LL.B. (Hons.) (ANU), BA (ANU), GDLP (ANU)

www.linkedin.com/in/esmé-shirlow-a580b595

Alongside her practice, Dr Shirlow is an Associate Professor at the Australian National University's College of Law, Governance and Policy, where she teaches and researches public international law, international investment law, and international dispute settlement. Among other publications, she is the author of Judging at the Interface: Deference to Domestic Authority in International Adjudication (Cambridge University Press, 2021), co-editor of By Peaceful Means: International Adjudication and Arbitration (Oxford University Press, 2024), and editor of The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Investor-State Disputes: History, Evolution and Future (Kluwer Law International, 2022), which received the 2024 American Society of International Law Certificate of Merit. She is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (2026–2029) for research on the International Court of Justice.

Dr Shirlow has served as an expert consultant to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and the Centre for Trade and Investment Law established by the Government of India. She is a regular speaker at international conferences and professional events, including those organised by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the American Society of International Law, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and leading universities. She serves on the editorial boards of the ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal and the Journal of International Arbitration. She is also a member of the ACT Committee of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and formerly served as Vice President (Australia) of the Australia and New Zealand Society of International Law.

Dr Esmé Shirlow is an Australian public international lawyer specialising in international arbitration and international dispute settlement. Her practice focuses on investor-State arbitration and State-State disputes, with experience across a broad range of issues arising under bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements, and customary international law.