Investment Treaties And The Legal Imagination

This book brings a new perspective to the subject of international investment law, by tracing the origins of foreign investor rights. It shows how a group of business leaders, bankers, and lawyers in the mid-twentieth century paved the way for our current system of foreign investment relations, and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.

This book brings a new perspective to the subject of international investment law, by tracing the origins of foreign investor rights. It shows how a group of business leaders, bankers, and lawyers in the mid-twentieth century paved the way for our current system of foreign investment relations, and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.

This book outlines the principles behind the international law of foreign investment. The main focus is on the law governed by bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. It traces the purpose, context, and evolution of the clauses and provisions characteristic of contemporary investment treaties, and analyses the case law, interpreting the issues raised by standard clauses. Particular consideration is given to broad treaty-rules whose understanding in practice has mainly been shaped by their interpretation and application by international tribunals. In addition, the book introduces the dispute settlement mechanisms for enforcing investment law, outlining the operation of Investor-State arbitration. Combining a systematic analytical study of the texts and principles underlying investment law with a jurisprudential analysis of the case law arising in international tribunals, this book offers an ideal introduction to the principles of international investment law and arbitration, for students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

Foreign investors have a privileged position under investment treaties. They enjoy strong rights, have no obligations, and can rely on a highly efficient enforcement mechanism: investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Unsurprisingly, this extraordinary status has made international investment law one of the most controversial areas of the global economic order. This book sheds new light on the topic, by showing that foreign investor rights are not the result of unpredicted arbitral interpretations, but rather the outcome of a world-making project realized by a coalition of business leaders, bankers, and their lawyers in the 1950s and 1960s. Some initiatives that these figures planned for did not emerge, such as a multilateral investment convention, but they were successful in developing a legal imagination that gradually occupied the space of international investment law. They sought not only to set up a dispute settlement mechanism but also to create a platform to ground their vision of foreign investment relations. Tracing their normative project from the post-World War II period, this book shows that the legal imagination of these business leaders, bankers, and lawyers is remarkably similar to present ISDS practice. Common to both is what they protect, such as foreign investors' legitimate expectations, as well as what they silence or make invisible. Ultimate, this book argues that our canon of imagination, of adjustment and potential reform, remains closely associated with this world-making project of the 1950s and 1960s.

With the growth of the global economy over the past two decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) laws, at both the national and international levels, have undergone rapid development in order to strengthen the protection standards for foreign investors. In terms of international investment law, a network of international investment agreements has arisen as a way to address FDI growth. FDI backlash, reflective of more restrictive regulation, has also emerged. The Evolving International Investment Regime analyzes the existing challenges to the international investment regime, and addresses these challenges going forward. It also examines the dynamics of the international regime, as well as a broader view of the changing global economic reality both in the United States and in other countries. The content for the book is a compendium of articles by leading thinkers, originating from the International Investment Conference "What's New in International Investment Law and Policy?"

The current international investment law system is insufficiently compatible with sustainable development. To better address sustainable development concerns associated with transnational investment activities, international investment agreements should be made more compatible with sustainable development. Integrating Sustainable Development in International Investment Law presents an important systematic study of the issue of sustainable development in the international investment law system, using conceptual, normative and governance perspectives to explore the challenges and possible solutions for making international investment law more compatible with sustainable development. Chi suggests that to effectively address the sustainable development concerns associated with transnational investment activities, the international investment agreements system should be reformed. Such reform should feature redesigning the provisions of the agreements, improving the structure of international investment agreements, strengthening the function of soft law, engaging non-state actors and enhancing the dispute settlement mechanism. The book is primarily aimed at national and international treaty and policy-makers, lawyers and scholars. It is also suitable for graduate students studying international law and policy-making.

The tremendous growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa comes at a time when the field of international investment law and arbitration is witnessing a renewal. The investment has led to big business for law firms in the area of investment arbitration and the last decade has witnessed an increased number of investment treaties, proliferating investment disputes, the rise of mega-regional trade agreements and the negotiation of mega-regional infrastructure projects. Yet, while the argument in support of investment treaties as instruments to attract foreign direct investment is highly contested, many African countries are no doubt becoming more aware of the need to reshape the international investment architecture. This volume explores trends in FDI on the African continent, the benefits and challenges that FDI presents for African States, and Africa's participation in the international investment law regime. Featuring contributions from leading African international lawyers, arbitrators, jurists, academics and litigation experts, this landmark volume is the first of its kind to explore African perspectives in international investment law. Hodu and Mbengue bring together non-mainstream approaches to the debate on the nexus between foreign investment and development, addressing key conceptual issues that will define contemporary international investment law for decades to come. With insights and critical comments on the challenges of Africa's foreign investment climate and international investment law, this timely collection is essential reading for academics, students and practitioners alike.

This open access book focuses on public actors with a role in the settlement of investment disputes. Traditional studies on actors in international investment law have tended to concentrate on arbitrators, claimant investors and respondent states. Yet this focus on the "principal" players in investment dispute settlement has allowed a number of other seminal actors to be neglected. This book seeks to redress this imbalance by turning the spotlight on the latter. From the investor's home state to domestic courts, from sub-national governments to international organisations, and from political risk insurance agencies to legal defence teams in national ministries, the book critically reviews these overlooked public actors in international investment law.