Drawing upon previous studies, Mr Matthew Hodgson, Partner of Allen & Overy, examined the issues of damages and costs, a seminal topic in investment treaty arbitration. The talk started off with an introduction of different types of costs, both tribunal and party costs, and a comprehensive analysis of various statistical values of the costs, damages, lengths of proceedings etc. Then, moving on to the tribunal’s decision on party costs, Mr Hodgson illustrated how the variation in costs observed could be explained by the use of different approaches and types of costs, as well as how ICSID and UNCITRAL responded to the recent trends of cost adjustment, also touching upon issues such as success rate and amounts recovered. The talk was moderated by Mr Romesh Weeramantry, Foreign Legal Consultant of Clifford Chance, and attracted law students, solicitors, barristers and government officials, who appreciated and commented favourably on the sharp and insightful observation presented in the talk.