Sarah Alshahrani

Profile

Sarah Alshahrani is working towards becoming a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Law at the University of Leeds, where she is undertaking research on international foreign investment law and its implications on Saudi Arabia. Her research is being supervised by Professor Surya Subedi and Dr. Collin Mackie. Her research would be one of the few studies that comprehensively examines the bilateral investment treaties of Saudi Arabia. It highlights the urgent need to revise the old pile of investment treaties and to create an innovative model of investment treaties that mainly aim to strike a balance between investment protection and the host state's right to regulate and align foreign investors with the objective of sustainable development.

She obtained a Master of Law Degree in International Trade Law from the University of Leeds in 2014, achieving a distinction in the dissertation. Through this, she developed a deep interest in the field of international investment law, which motivated her to pursue her doctoral degree. She also holds a Law Degree LLB (Hons) from the King Abdulaziz University. Currently, she holds the position of teaching assistant at Taibah University.

She has held a visiting scholar position at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) where she conducts researches on the advantages and potential benefits for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in joining the core HCCH Conventions and acts as a designated point of contact between the HCCH and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, liaising with officials at both the Saudi Embassy in The Hague and the relevant authorities in Riyadh.

Publication

Journal Articles

‘What Should We Know about the Origins of International Investment Law?’ International Journal of Legal Information (2020) 48(3) 

‘Fair and Equitable Treatment in the Saudi Bilateral Investment Treaties’ (2020) 34 Arab Law Quarterly

‘Ousting choice of law in international contracts – lessons from ARAMCO Case’ (2019) 15(2) Asian International Arbitration Journal

 ‘The Recent Amendments in the Foreign Investment Law in Saudi Arabia’ (2019) 4(1) Journal of Contemporary Islamic Law

 'How effective is the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organisation in relation to environmentally sustainable development?' 2019 3(8) American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research

Conference papers

Sarah Alshahrani, ‘The Backlash against Investment Treaties’ (Contemporary Issues in International and European Law Conference, Sheffield, April 2018)

Sarah Alshahrani, ‘The Saudi Model BIT’ (Enhance Regional Approaches to Investment Protection and Facilitation for Sustainable Development, UNCTAD, Casablanca, December 2018)