Elizabeth Whitsitt

Dr. Elizabeth Whitsitt

FCIArb
Pronouns: she/her

Affiliations

Associate Professor

Faculty of Law

Contact information

Email

eawhitsi@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

ABlawg

Twitter

Phone number

Office: 403.220.7781

Location

Office: MFH4316

Background

Educational Background

PhD International Economic Law, University of Calgary, 2017

LLM International Legal Studies, New York University, 2007

LLB University of Calgary, 2004

BSc Psychology, University of Calgary, 1999

Biography

Dr. Elizabeth Whitsitt is a prominent Canadian legal scholar, public servant and arbitrator. She currently serves as a member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT). Renowned for her expertise in international economic law, she made history as the first full-time academic from outside the National Capital Region to be appointed to the CITT.  Alongside her tribunal work, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), a member of the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society (WCCAS) and is on the VanIAC roster of arbitrators for expedited international arbitrations.

Dr. Whitsitt established her academic roots at the University of Calgary, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 1999, followed by a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2004. She then advanced her legal training globally, obtaining an LLM in International Legal Studies from the New York University School of Law in 2007. She returned to the University of Calgary to complete her PhD in 2017, focusing her doctoral research on international economic law and the systemic conflicts between the international trade and investment regimes.

Public Service Appointments

Dr. Whitsitt's expertise has frequently been called upon by federal and international bodies.

  • CITT Appointment: In recent years, she was appointed by the Canadian federal government to serve a five-year term as a full-time member of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, where she adjudicates trade remedies, procurement challenges, and customs appeals.
  • Trade Panelist Rosters: She serves on Canada’s official roster for Chapter 10 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which handles binational panel reviews of anti-dumping and countervailing duty determinations. Previously, she served on the NAFTA Chapter 19 roster.
  • Environmental & Professional Roles: She currently serves as a Canadian member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation under CUSMA and previously NAFTA.

Research Activities

Professor Whitsitt’s research profile engages a variety of issues and themes in the area of public international law, particularly international economic law. Her research interests include work on the unifying role of adjudication in global economic governance and the relationship between international economic law and the regulation of digital economy, natural resources, energy, environment and human rights.

 

Research

Areas of Research

Public International Law, International Trade Law, International Investment Law, International Dispute Settlement, Intersection between disciplines of International Economic Law, Intersection between disciplines of International Economic Law and regulation of Natural Resources, Customs and Procurement Disputes

Publications

  • “Discourses of ISDS reform: a comparison of UNCITRAL Working Group III and ICSID processes”. Elizabeth Whitsitt, Jean-Michel Marcoux, Andrea Bjorklund & Lukas Vanhonnaeker. Journal of International Economic Law. 314-335. (2024)
  • "Governance of Cybersecurity: Challenges and Potential". Elizabeth Whitsitt. Cambridge University . (2023)
  • “Implementing Pillar Two: Potential Conflicts with Investment Treaties". Elizabeth Whitsitt, Catherine Brown. Canadian Tax Journal. 189-207. (2023)
  • “Dispute Resolution in the Energy Sector: Wither Thou Goest?”. Elizabeth Whitsitt and Ann Ryan Robertson. Alberta Law Review. (2021)
  • “WTO Dispute Settlement, Investor-State Arbitration and Investment Courts: Exploring Themes of State Power, Adjudication and Legitimacy”. Elizabeth Whitsitt and Todd Weiler. 13(2) Dispute Resolution International. 1-48. (2019)
  • “ICSID and Legislative Consent to Arbitrate: Questions of Applicable Law”. Elizabeth Whitsitt and Stephanie Mullen. 32(1) ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal. 92-115. (2017)
  • "Quantum, annulment and the requirement to give reasons: analysis and reform". Elizabeth Whitsitt and Stephanie Mullen. 32(1) Arbitration International. 59-80. (2016)
  • "A Comment on the Public Morals Exception in International Trade and the EC- Seal Products Case: Moral Imperialism and Other Concerns". Elizabeth Whitsitt. 3(4) Cambridge Journal of International & Comparative Law.
  • "The Role of Canadian Courts in the Legitimization of NAFTA Chapter Eleven Tribunal Decisions". Elizabeth Whitsitt. 65 UNB Law Journal. 126-156. (2014)
  • "A Modest Victory at the WTO for Ontario’s FIT Program". Elizabeth Whitsitt. 20(1) UC Davis Journal of International Law & Policy. (2014)
  • "International Trade and Investment Law and Carbon Management Technologies". Elizabeth Whitsitt, Nigel Bankes, Anatole Boute, Steve Charnovitz, Shi-Ling Hsu, Sarah Mccalla, and Nicholas Rivers. Natural Resources Journal . 285-324. (2013)
  • "The Evolution of International Investment Law and Its Application to the Energy Sector". Elizabeth Whitsitt, Nigel Bankes. Alberta Law Review . 207-248. (2013)
  • , “Application of MFN Clauses to the Dispute Settlement Provisions of BITs: An Updated Assessment of the Jurisprudence since Wintershall”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. Journal of Arbitration and Mediation. 21-50. (2011)
  • “The Application of Most Favoured Nation Clauses to the Dispute Settlement Provisions of Bilateral Investment Treaties: an Assessment of the Jurisprudence” . Elizabeth Whitsitt. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law. 527-557. (2009)
  • “USMCA”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. The International Law of Economic Integration, Oxford University Press. (2024)
  • “International Trade Law & Cybersecurity: Balancing Market-Oriented and Domestic State Regulation”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. Tomoko Ishikawa & Yarik Kryvoi, eds, Public and Private . (2020)
  • “Tax Treaty Arbitration in Canada”. Elizabeth Whitsitt, Catherine Brown. Michael Lang et al, eds, Tax Treaty Arbitration, Amsterdam: International Bureau Fiscal Documentation. 163-185. (2020)
  • “International Investment Law and the Rule of Law: Non-Discrimination Norms Through Thick and Thin”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. in Stephan Schill & August Reinisch, eds, Investment Protection Standards and the Rule of Law. (2023)
  • “CETA’s Investment Court: Will Reform Enhance Legitimacy?”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. in Robert Finbow, ed, CETA: Next Steps and Implications. (2020)
  • “Canada’s Digital Trade Era: Current Developments & Future Challenges”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. in David Collins, ed, Digital Trade Across the Globe. (2020)
  • “Transparency in Investment Treaty Dispute Settlement”. Elizabeth Whitsitt & Todd Weiler. in Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger & Sean Stephenson, eds, Research Handbook on Investment Law and Sustainable Development. (2020)
  • “Finding Refuge in the Exceptional: Using Public Morality as a Basis for Managing Natural Resources in the Arctic”. Elizabeth Whitsitt. John Norton Moore & Myron Nordquist eds, Challenges of the Changing Arctic: Continental Shelf, Navigation and Fisheries, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 303-305. (2016)
  • "Regulation of the Harvesting of Arctic Marine Mammals under International Environmental and Trade Laws”. Elizabeth Whitsitt, Nigel Bankes. Leif Jensen & Geir Hønneland eds, Handbook on the Politics of the Arctic, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 185-207. (2015)
  • "Aquaculture and trade: trade law and trade-related multilateral environmental agreements". Elizabeth Whitsitt and Nigel Bankes. in Nigel Bankes, Irene Dah, and David VanderZwaag (eds), Aquaculture Law and Policy: Global, Regional and National Perspectives. (2016)
  • "Arctic Marine Mammals in international environmental law and trade law”. Elizabeth Whitsitt and Nigel Bankes. in Leif Christian Jensen and Geir Hønneland (eds), Handbook of the Politics of the Arctic. 185-206. (2015)
  • "Sovereign Wealth Funds and Bilateral Investment Treaties' New Models: Issues, New Trends and State Practice". Elizabeth Whitsitt & Todd Weiler. in Fabio Bassan ed, Research Handbook on Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Investment Law. (2015)
  • "The Province of Persons: The Alberta Supreme Court and Women's Equality". Elizabeth Whitsitt and Jennifer Koshan. in The Alberta Supreme Court at 100 edited by Jonathan Swainger. (2007)
  • “True or False: The USMCA Chapter on Investment Represents the New State-of-the-Art in Investment Protection Treaties”. 14th Annual JURIS Conference. (2020)
  • “Future of Oil and Gas Arbitrations in Canada and Abroad”. ICC Canada International Arbitration Conference. (2019)
  • “CETA Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Will Reform Enhance Legitimacy?”. CETA Implications. (2019)
  • “China’s Threshold Moment: Leading Asian Economic Policy Toward Sustainable Development”. China, Sustainable Development and Economic Policy-Making. (2019)
  • “Investment Protection Standards and the Rule of Law”. Rule of Law in International Investment Law. (2018)
  • “Parallel Proceedings and Transparency in Investor-State Arbitrations”. Young Canadian Arbitrator Practitioners (YCAP). (2018)
  • “Granting States a Margin of Appreciation”. Canadian Council on International Law: International Law at the Boundaries. (2018)
  • “Judicial Discourse: An Opportunity for Unity in International Economic Law”. Joint North American International Economic Law Conference: Managing International Economic (Dis)Integration: Challenges and Opportunities. (2018)
  • “Effect of International Law in Canada”. New Law Librarians Institute. (2018)
  • “CETA Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Exploring themes of Legitimacy, State Power & Adjudication”. CETA Implementation: Next Steps. (2018)
  • "The WTO Dispute Settlement Model: A Solution to Concerns about Investment Treaty Arbitration? Be Careful What You Ask for Because You Just Might Get It". with Todd Weiler. Investment Courts: Challenges and Perspectives. (2018)
  • “Implementing Pillar Two: Potential Conflicts with Canada’s Global Foreign Investment Policy Agreements (FIPAs)”. Elizabeth Whitsitt, Catherine Brown. Can. Tax. Found., Pillar Two Symposium. (2022)
  • “Die Geister die Ich Rief: Uncommon Remedies in International Dispute Resolution”. Elizabeth Whitsitt, Frederick Sourgens, Isabel Ferna ́ndez de la Cuesta, Jennifer Gorskie, Carmen Martínez Lo ́pez, James Upcher, and Jarrod Wong. 107th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law. 33-46. (2013)

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