General International Law In International Investment Law

This Commentary systematically and comprehensively examines the various sources of general international law relevant to international investment law and arbitration.

General international law is part and parcel of investor-state arbitration. This is the case not only regarding treaty law and state responsibility, but also with respect to matters such as state succession, the international minimum standard, and state immunity, all of which feature regularly in investor-state arbitration. Yet, although general international law issues arise in almost every investment case and often require extensive research, no systematic exploration of the relationship between the two exists. This Commentary is the first to fill this gap, providing a comprehensive treatment of the role of general international law in international investment law. It engages in detail with central matters of general international law, including in the practice of investment arbitration tribunals, moving beyond existing works which focus solely on procedural and institutional provisions. The Commentary's forty-six chapters do not focus on a single source or subject. Instead, each concentrates on a specific, relevant article from a particular source of public law - such as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) or the International Law Commission's Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001), among others. The entries combine detailed analysis with an examination of procedural and substantive aspects - such as nationality and unjust enrichment - and respond to the following questions: how have investment tribunals interpreted and applied the specific rule of general international law? To what extent and why does such interpretation and application align with or deviate from the practice by other international courts or tribunals? How could and should investment tribunals interpret and apply rules that have yet to feature in investment arbitration? This unique format means this commentary will serve as a central guide for all relevant case law and scholarship on international investment law.

This book questions whether investment law influences the wider field of general international law, and more specifically, whether approaches adopted by tribunals in investment arbitrations have radiated, or should radiate, into other fields of international law. To answer this question, the book engages in a detailed analysis of pronouncements by investment tribunals on state responsibility, the law of treaties, and general principles of dispute resolution, and evaluates their impact beyond the narrow field of investment law. The perspectives provided in the book highlight how rules of general international law are concretised, specified, and at times moulded in investment arbitration practice. By doing so, the book enhances our understanding of the relationship between general international law and one its most dynamic sub-disciplines. Combining conceptual and practical perspectives, and offering a detailed analysis of the pertinent case law, the book is a plea for a fuller engagement directed at both general international lawyers and international investment lawyers. It will help investment lawyers better understand the role of general international law in their field of practice. General international lawyers will benefit from paying close attention to how investment lawyers apply and interpret rules of general international law.

Transnational investment involves a variety of actors (States, public and private legal entities, and natural persons) whose relationships are governed by rules and legal instruments belonging to different legal systems. This book provides a systematic study of the sources of rights and obligations in the field of transnational investment, and their coordination and interaction. It focuses primarily on the network of over 3,000 Bilateral Investment Treaties, international investment contracts, customary international law, the main multilateral treaties, national legislation, international case law and general principles of law. The book, firmly based on State practice, arbitral awards and national decisions, is indispensable to fully appraise the nature and content of the claims of private investors as well as to identify the law applicable in investment arbitration.

This volume celebrates the first fifty years of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by presenting the landmark cases that have been decided under its auspices. These cases have addressed every aspect of investment disputes: jurisdictional thresholds; the substantive obligations found in investment treaties, contracts, and legislation; questions of general international law; and a number of novel procedural issues. Each chapter, written by an expert on the chapter’s particular focus, looks at an international investment law topic through the lens of one or more of these leading cases, analyzing what the case held, how it has been applied, and its overall significance to the development of international investment law. These topics include: - applicable law; - res judicata in investor-State arbitration; - notion of investment; - investor nationality; - consent to arbitration; - substantive standards of treatment; - consequences of corruption in investor-State arbitration; - State defenses - counter-claims; - assessment of damages and cost considerations; - ICSID Arbitration Rule 41(5) objections; - mass claims, consolidation and parallel proceedings; - provisional measures; - arbitrator challenges; - transparency and amicus curiae; and - annulment. Because the law of international investment continues to grow in importance in an ever globalizing world, this book is more than a fitting way to mark the past fifty years and to welcome the next fifty years of development. It will prove both educational for practitioners new to the field and informative for seasoned investment lawyers. Moreover, the book itself is a landmark that will be of great value to professionals, scholars and students interested in international investment law.

This comprehensive book provides a complete overview of the international legal system of foreign investment protection, synthesising material from treaties, general international law, contracts and case law to demonstrate a coherent system of investment protection. Through this systematic approach, the book considers all aspects of the discipline, providing a thorough and accessible analysis.

In the last decade, international investment law has developed into one of the core areas of international law. The reason for this development is twofold. The number of cases has increased rapidly. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes has over a hundred pending cases and there are more before ad hoc tribunals, mostly operating under the United Nations' Commission on International Trade Law Rules. In addition, investment law has addressed a number of novel issues while also coming up with some innovative solutions. This book brings together the papers delivered at the Young Scholars Conference in International Economic Law, which was held at the University of Vienna Law School in June 2007. Under the general topic of "Current Issues and Developments in International Investment Law," the speakers addressed core issues like the definition of investment, legitimate expectations of investors, and the meaning and importance of references to domestic law included in many Bilateral Investment Treaties. Also discussed were topics like the role of investment law in the context of the European Union and its relation to cultural matters, human rights, and other non-investment issues. As international investment law is becoming more and more significant, a book such as this, dedicated to the latest developments in the field, will be of utmost importance to anyone interested in this area of law.

This book questions whether investment law influences the wider field of general international law, and more specifically, whether approaches adopted by tribunals in investment arbitrations have radiated, or should radiate, into other fields of international law.