Sarah Brewin joined IISD in 2017 as an advisor on agriculture and investment for the Economic Law and Policy program. Sarah advises developing country governments and regional bodies on laws, policies, contracts and treaties relating to investment in agriculture.
Sarah is based in Kigali, Rwanda, where she worked for two years as a legal advisor to the Rwandan Ministry of Trade and Industry providing legal and policy advice on investment, competition and consumer protection, industrial policy, intellectual property, and other areas of economic law. Sarah has also worked as an embedded legal advisor to the Samoan Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, and as a consultant in an international development consultancy specialising in law, justice and investment climate reform.
Sarah began her career as an investigator in competition law enforcement at the Australian competition and consumer protection authority, and is qualified to practice law in Australia.
All Publications
- The Sustainable Agriculture Transition: Technology options for low- and middle-income countries
Report - July 30, 2020
This report reviews how technology is transforming food systems and how policy-makers and investors can best harness the use of modern technologies to bring transformative change. - Investment Treaty News (ITN), Volume 11, Issue 2, June 2020
Newsletter - June 25, 2020
Investment Treaty News (ITN) is IISD’s flagship journal on international investment law and policy. - Protecting Against Investor–State Claims Amidst COVID-19: A call to action for governments
Commentary - April 14, 2020
This commentary takes stock of emergency measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 and provides governments with options for avoiding a surge of investor-state claims challenging those measures. - IISD Best Practices Series: Terminating a Bilateral Investment Treaty
Best Practices - March 25, 2020
This paper examines recent state practice in bilateral investment treaty (BIT) terminations and related drafting, along with presenting options for states interested in addressing their stock of older BITs through termination and renegotiation. - IISD Best Practices Series: Compensation Under Investment Treaties (Advance Draft)
Best Practices - October 15, 2019
This advance draft of the latest IISD Best Practices Series paper focuses specifically on the awards seen in various investment treaty arbitration cases, how they are determined and what can be learned going forward. Please note that this paper will be updated following comments. - Summary Comments to the Proposals for Amendment of the ICSID Arbitration Rules
Commentary - April 11, 2019
This commentary focuses on select aspects of the ICSID Secretariat's March 15, 2019 draft proposals for amendment of the ICSID Arbitration Rules. - ASEAN Guidelines for Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry
Best Practices - March 26, 2019
These guidelines, adopted by ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, focus on promoting responsible investment in the region's food, agriculture and forestry sectors. - The Farmer and Her Husband: Legal innovations for women in contract farming
Policy Brief - February 28, 2019
Read our policy brief to learn how contracts, if designed with women’s interests in mind, can help foster more balanced relationships between farmers and buyers, as well as female farmers and their husbands. - Contract Farming: Challenges and a new tool for success
Blog - November 28, 2018
IISD and FAO have developed a Model Agreement for Responsible Contract Farming to help farmers and responsible buyers address the shortcomings of contract farming. - Trade Wars Turning Into Investment Wars: Will sustainable development suffer?
Blog - December 4, 2018
While the U.S.–China trade war rages on and captures headlines, a U.S.–China investment war is emerging. Will sustainable development be the ultimate loser? - IISD Best Practices Series: Security for Costs
Best Practices - October 17, 2018
This IISD Best Practices paper explores challenges for states in obtaining orders for security of costs and provides model treaty language designed to help overcome those challenges. - Tourist Trap: Is tourism's explosive growth hurting countries?
Blog - July 30, 2018
Countries are learning hard lessons as global tourism has almost doubled between 2000 and 2017. As the growth of global tourism continues to expand, international tourists arriving in developing countries are projected to grow at double the rate of advanced economies.