Thomas Walde
Professor Walde was an esteemed scholar of international investment law and an internationally respected arbitrator, counsel, and expert witness in investor-state disputes.
OGEMID was established to facilitate arbitration of natural resource disputes electronically. He advocated for rule of law in international business dealings.
Early Life and Education
Thomas Walde was born in Heidelberg, Germany on 9 January 1949 and studied law at Heidelberg, Berlin and Frankfurt universities before receiving both his law degree and doctorate (Juristische Folgenorientierung: An Interpretative Tool of International Economic Law) there. Later he served as UN Inter-regional Adviser on Petroleum and Mineral Law before taking up Professor & Jean-Monnet Chair status at Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law and Policy at University of Dundee Scotland before passing away peacefully at home on 11 October 2008 after having survived by wife & son both. Thomas Walde was the author of several books and articles related to international law topics & was known for being his prolific writing on these subjects.
Professional Career
Thomas Walde was an internationally acclaimed lawyer and scholar, best known for his international arbitration expertise, teaching techniques, mediation skills and mediation services at both New York City and Dundee United Nations locations.
Beginning as an Interregional Advisers on Mineral Law for the UN, his work eventually expanded to energy/petroleum law and international investment policy; providing advisory to governments as well as contract negotiations with multinationals. He established and led several advisory projects combining legal, financial, technical and advisory expertise for investment project negotiations in areas like coal (Colombia), gold (Mali), uranium (Guyana), copper (Dominican Republic) and oil/nickel in Cayman Islands.
OGEMID was also founded by him; an international electronic forum for investor-state disputes related to international contracts and investment treaties. Unfortunately he passed away on 11 October 2008 in South France.
Achievement and Honors
Thomas Walde (born 9 January 1949; died 11 October 2008) was Professor and Jean-Monnet Chair of Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy at University of Dundee. A former United Nations interregional adviser on mineral law – providing rapid advisory services to developing country governments around the globe on legislative reform, contract negotiations with international investors and international investment policy – Thomas won in 1978 the prestigious prize awarded by German Research Foundation named for famous nuclear physicist Heinz Maier-Leibnitz which honors an expert on international investment law and practice.
Personal Life
Thomas Walde was married and had both a son and daughter when he died in 2008. Thomas Walde died at his residence in southern France in 2008.
Professor Detlev Vagts was his academic mentor and long-term colleague and friend.
In 1980, he took up an international position at the UN as interregional advisor on mineral law; later becoming responsible for energy/petroleum policy and international investment policies. He participated in many projects and negotiations with developing country governments such as that involved creating the first UN mining guidelines.
Arguing in numerous arbitration and mediation cases, Professor Corrigan served as visiting scholar at Harvard Law School before receiving an LL.M degree from Heidelberg University. Later, in 1991 he moved on to University of Dundee Scotland as Professor and Jean-Monnet Chair of International Economic, Natural Resource, and Energy Law.
Net Worth
Since the S&L’s failure, Walde has engaged in an organized scheme to defraud and hamper recovery efforts by the RTC, according to government. According to its lawsuit against him, Walde attempted to alter ownership records for houses located in McLean Virginia; Rehoboth Delaware; and elsewhere. Trustbank attempted to hide assets worth millions in Palm Beach and Weston to prevent the federal government from seizing them as compensation for Trustbank’s losses. Walde is accused of leading a process server who attempted to serve him with a subpoena on a high-speed chase in his Mercedes 560 coupe, according to documents. Walde and American Pioneer appellants assert that RTC lacks the legal basis to subpoena private financial information for net worth assessments, arguing enforcement would violate their Fourth Amendment rights.