Contractual Renegotiations And International Investment Arbitration

In Contractual Renegotiations and International Investment Arbitration, Aikaterini Florou explores the complex phenomenon of the renegotiation of investor-state contracts. The author reconstructs the relationship between those contracts and the overarching investment treaties using an original interpretative methodology based on transaction cost economics and relational contract theory.

This book is a second, revised edition of the original 1986 publication. Since then, the issue of contract change has increasingly challenged the business community and legal practitioners. The world-wide recession may well have accelerated the need to secure contractual relationships by reasonable flexibility. Successful foreign investment, a relentless challenge, is subject to many unpredictable errors. Of all these variables, however, successful investment is most dependent on the investor-host country relationship, which is the object of the present study. In particular, the pressure by host countries for contract change and its counterpart: the investor's defence of contract stability. The book is essentially a reference handbook for legal practitioners. It analyzes a variety of increasingly important questions concerning international investment agreements that come under pressure for change by one of the contracting parties: either a transnational corporation or a host country government. The seven case studies and the analytical chapters which follow are based on the author's research and the assistance of corporate and government officials, experts from the United Nations and other organizations, and members of academic research institutes.

Is privity of contract the reason why investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is open to critics, or could it contribute to solving the system’s legitimacy crisis? Privity of contract essentially means that a subject must be a party to a contract, in order to acquire rights and assume obligations, to sue and be sued under that contract. Privity of contract came to land on the shores of ISDS and this has at least on one occasion been described as an ‘original sin’. Arbitral tribunals often need to decide whether they have jurisdiction in cases where a party to the investment contract is not the claimant but a related entity, or not the central government, but a state agency or state-owned enterprise. In light of the deep interconnection between, on the one hand, the criticism today surrounding investment treaty arbitration – be it called judicial activism and regulatory chill, or be it called abuse of law and indirect claims – and, on the other hand, the domains where privity of contract applies, this book’s original and far-reaching analysis clearly lays out, via an in-depth examination of relevant case law, a possible use of the doctrine that can contribute to leading ISDS out of the crisis. The study’s conclusions respond with thoroughly researched authority to such key questions as the following: In which domains of international investment arbitration does the notion of privity of contract operate, and with what effects? How are states and arbitral panels reacting to the persisting unresolved issues raised by the increasing pertinence of this legal doctrine? What solutions are advisable in the midst of the current criticisms surrounding ISDS? The author finds that the doctrine of privity of contract finds application in heterogeneous scenarios, from decisions on jurisdiction where there are forum selection clauses in investment contracts or fork-in-the-road provisions in investment treaties, to consolidation, counterclaims and umbrella clause claims. She proposes a flexible interpretation of the doctrine of privity of contract as a guiding principle arbitral tribunals should consider along with other factors (inter alia the tightness of the relation between the investor and its subsidiary and the host state’s involvement in the organization and function of agencies or state-owned enterprises). The book’s thorough and extensive examination of investment arbitration case law draws comparisons with other international adjudicatory bodies and identifies the most actual and compelling unresolved legal issues. Appendices include lists of many of the arbitration cases, international judgments and national judgments discussed. As a constructive contribution to the current debate, this enquiry is an extraordinary achievement. No other study has conducted such thorough research on the application of privity of contract in investment treaty arbitration. It will be of great interest to arbitration lawyers, arbitrators, foreign investors, host states and scholars in all areas of international arbitration and dispute settlement.

A new edition connecting extracts from arbitral decisions, treaties and scholarly works with concise, up-to-date and reliable commentary.

Contracts are relevant, frequently central, for a significant number of investment disputes. Yet, the way tribunals ascertain their content remains largely underexplored. How do tribunals interpret contracts in investment treaty arbitration? How should they interpret contracts? Does national law have any role to play? Contract Interpretation in Investment Treaty Arbitration: A Theory of the Incidental Issue addresses these questions. The monograph offers a valuable insight into the practice and theory of contract interpretation in investment treaty arbitration. By proposing a theoretical frame for seamless integration of contract interpretation into the overall structure of decision-making, the book contributes to predictability, coherence, sufficiency and correctness of the tribunals’ interpretative practices in investment treaty arbitration.

This work deals with the current state of investment dispute resolution and analyzes the problems associated with investor-state arbitration. The author examines developments in the existing legal framework and looks at the mechanisms under existing domestic and international systems - such as judicial review and class actions - to see if these can be applied to investment dispute resolution. The author concludes that the features of traditional arbitration are not flexible enough to meet the needs of this modern form of international dispute resolution. Investment arbitration is now entering a new phase of its development. The traditional, typically arbitration-related issues of consent, privity, and confidentiality are making room for the now more important questions of disclosure, transparency, legal certainty, and consistency. The author calls for setting up a "model procedure," specifically created for international investment disputes as this would enable the establishment of a "tailor-made" process for this ever-growing area of law.

International investments are governed by three different legal frameworks: 1) national laws of both the host country and the investor's home country; 2) contracts, whether between the investor and the host country or among investors and their associates; and 3) international law, consisting of applicable treaties, customs, and general principles of law. Together, these three frameworks profoundly influence the organization, operation, and protection of foreign investments. Investors, government officials, and their legal counsel must therefore understand the complex interaction among these frameworks and how best to employ them to advance their interests. This book examines the content of each of these three legal frameworks for international investment and explores how they influence the foreign investment process and the nature of investment transactions, projects, and enterprises. The book is divided into five parts. Part I, after explaining the contemporary nature and significance of international investment, examines the theoretical and practical links between law and the investment process. Part II explores the nature of national laws regulating foreign investment. Part III considers of the various contractual frameworks for international investments, looking at their negotiation, content, and stability. Part IV sets out the international legal framework governing foreign investment, focusing on the content and nature of investment treaties and on general principles. Finally, Part V discusses how the three legal frameworks interact with each other. By comprehensively examining each of the applicable legal frameworks, this book provides a vital overview of the laws, rules, and regulations governing foreign investment for lawyers, scholars, students, and government officials.