The Origin And Evolution Of Investment Treaty Standards

This book provides a conceptual and legal analysis of the core of investment protection guarantees that emerge from international treaties signed since 1959 for the promotion and protection of foreign investment. It focuses on both the origin and evolution of investment treaty standards. Beginning with origins, the work considers the broader context at the time when the first modern investment treaty was concluded. It goes on to examine the many decisions of ad hoc arbitral tribunals that have since been called upon to apply these treaties in order to resolve the several hundred investor-State disputes. It also looks at some of the recent investment treaties that have attempted to clarify and/or reform the content and scope of investment protection guarantees. Federico Ortino posits that the key investment protection provisions in investment treaties, and thus much of the controversy associated with such treaties, revolve around three concepts: legal stability, investment's value, and reasonableness. He argues that, from the very beginning, the protections afforded to foreign investments by modern investment treaties have been exceptionally broad, and as such restrictive of host States' ability to regulate. And whilst a growing number of investment treaty tribunals, as well as new investment treaties, have to some extent reined in such broad protections, the evolution of key investment protection standards has been marred by inconsistency and uncertainty.

The book focuses on the substantive protections accorded to investors and investments and on the variations among jurisdictions. Among the many specific issues and topics that arise in the course of the discussion are the following: - problems of transparency and conflict of interest; - the recent growth in IIAs between and among developing nations; - the effect of new model bilateral investment treaties (BITs); - the ability of non-disputing parties to participate in investor-state arbitration; - theories of the interaction of foreign direct investment (FDI) and BITs; - investor-state arbitration as an evasion of public regulatory authority; - the role of investment funds in international investment; - 'fork in the road' provisions; and - institutional versus ad hoc arbitration. International business and other investors will greatly appreciate the in-depth information and insightful guidance in this solidly useful book. It will also be welcomed by jurists and students as a significant milestone in the development of principles in a quickly growing field of practice that is still plagued with inconsistencies.

These are Chapters Seven and Nine of Bilateral Investment Treaties: History, Policy, and Interpretation, published by Oxford University Press in 2010. The book analyzes the key provisions of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), explaining the structure and policy of each provision, tracing the provision's origins and development, and synthesizing the arbitral awards that interpret it. The book also includes extensive discussion of the history and policy underlying international investment law and is the first book to offer a general theory of international investment law, arguing that investment treaties are based on six core principles - nondiscrimination, security, reasonableness, due process, transparency and access. These principles provide a basis for interpreting BIT provisions and understanding the relationship among them. The book covers the period from 1959, when Germany concluded its first bilateral investment treaty with Pakistan, through 2009, and thus provides a summary of the first 50 years of BIT programs worldwide. Chapter Seven discusses the norm of nondiscrimination, which appears in provisions guaranteeing national treatment, most-favored-nation treatment, and fair and equitable treatment and prohibiting unreasonable or discriminatory measures that impair investment. Chapter Nine discusses the economics of an open capital account and then analyzes several BIT provisions that address access to the host state's economy: the establishment provision, the currency transfers provision, the performance requirements provision, the entry and sojourn provision, and the employment provision. Bilateral Investment Treaties: History, Policy, and Interpretation is part of a trilogy of books on international investment agreements. U.S. International Investment Agreements, published by Oxford University Press in 2009, presents a comprehensive analysis of the first 30 years of the current U.S. investment treaty program, including both BITs and free trade agreements (FTAs) with investment chapters. It traces the evolution of each provision in the U.S. model BITs, explains the policies underlying those provisions, describes modifications to the provisions in the signed BITs and FTAs, and synthesizes the international arbitral awards interpreting the provisions. Appendices contain the text of each of the U.S. model BITs used as a basis for successful negotiations. The book covers the period from 1977, when the Carter administration approved the inauguration of a U.S. BIT program, to 2007. Chapters One (“Introduction”) and Three (“The Evolution of the BIT Model Negotiating Text”) of that book have been posted separately. The First Bilateral Investment Treaties: U.S. Postwar Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation Treaties, published by Oxford University Press in 2017, traces the history of the U.S. postwar friendship, commerce and navigation (FCN) treaty program, including the process by which a treaty series initiated in 1776 to address trade and maritime relations was reconceptualized in the late 1940s as a program of investment treaties. It also describes the origins and meaning of the investment provisions that appeared in these treaties, provisions that are the precursors to the provisions that appear in contemporary bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) with investment provisions. Chapters One (“Introduction”) and Five (“The FCN Treaties Become Investment Treaties”) of that book have been posted separately.

International investment law is in a state of evolution. With the advent of investor-State arbitration in the latter part of the twentieth century - and its exponential growth over the last decade - new levels of complexity, uncertainty and substantive expansion are emerging. States continue to enter into investment treaties and the number of investor-State arbitration claims continues to rise. At the same time, the various participants in investment treaty arbitration are faced with increasingly difficult issues concerning the fundamental character of the investment treaty regime, the role of the actors in international investment law, the new significance of procedure in the settlement of disputes and the emergence of cross-cutting issues. Bringing together established scholars and practitioners, as well as members of a new generation of international investment lawyers, this volume examines these developments and provides a balanced assessment of the challenges being faced in the field.

International Investment Law and Arbitration: History, Modern Practice, and Future Prospects explores international law on foreign investment: its creation, functioning and evolution.

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.

Historiographical approaches in international investment law scholarship are becoming ever more important. This insightful book combines perspectives from a range of expert international law scholars who explore ways in which using a broad variety of methods in historical research can lead to a better understanding of international investment law.

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.