The Role Of The State In Investor State Arbitration

Edited by Shaheeza Lalani and Rodrigo Polanco Lazo, The Role of the State in Investor-State Arbitration is a collection of edited contributions by lawyers, arbitrators and political scientists on the development of the concept of the “State” in a field that currently presents an increasing number of controversial disputes: Investor-State Arbitration.

I. Introduction II. History and Limitations of the Traditional System for Resolving Investment Disputes III. The Modern System of Investor-State Arbitration IV. Commonly Used Procedural Rules V. Procedural Law Applicable in Investor-State Arbitration VI. National Court Interference: Anti-Arbitration Injunctions VII. The Course of an Investment Arbitration VIII. Consolidation under Relevant Arbitration Rules or Treaties IX. Governing Law in Investment Disputes X. Consent to Arbitral Jurisdiction XI. The Concept of Investment XII. The Nationality of the Investor XIII. Exhaustion of Local Remedies XIV. Election of Forum: National Courts and Contract Arbitrations XV. Discrimination XVI. Expropriation XVII. "Fair and Equitable Treatment" and "Full Protection and Security" XVIII. Umbrella Clauses XIX. Damages, Compensation, and Non-Pecuniary Remedies XX. Annulment and Set Aside XXI. Enforcement of Awards XXII. The Future of International Investment Arbitration Select Bibliography Index Table of Cases Index of Treaties, Conventions, and International Agreements.

This book examines the role of home states to investment disputes and questions whether it represents a return to diplomatic protection.

Today thousands of investors act globally in markets providing services, technology or capital in countries all around the world. This activity can be peacefully accomplished when both the investor and the host State know that the disputes will be resolved under the aegis of the investor-State arbitration regime, wherein an investor is provided with a direct right of action against a State, most commonly stemming from a bilateral or multilateral investment treaty. This book approaches the substantive and sometimes difficult concepts of investor-State arbitration in a clear and concise explanatory fashion. In the course of acquainting the reader with the basic legal concepts and policies of the regime, the authors address such issues as the following: • consent to jurisdiction; • State responsibility; • possible conflict of interests; • mechanisms for reviewing an award; • damages and costs; and • enforcement. The book examines a number of arbitration procedures arising from various perspectives with differing underlying assumptions while highlighting important cases. Given that investor-State arbitration is now under the public watch and facing many challenges, this remarkably clear and concise overview of the regime will prove to be of great value to in-house counsel and other practitioners, as well as to government policymakers and students.x`

This open access book examines the multiple intersections between national and international courts in the field of investment protection, and suggests possible modes for regulating future jurisdictional interactions between domestic courts and international tribunals. The current system of foreign investment protection consists of more than 3,000 international investment agreements (IIAs), most of which provide for investment arbitration as the forum for the resolution of disputes between foreign investors and host States. However, national courts also have jurisdiction over certain matters involving cross-border investments. International investment tribunals and national courts thus interact in a number of ways, which range from harmonious co-existence to reinforcing complementation, reciprocal supervision and, occasionally, competition and discord. The book maps this complex relationship between dispute settlement bodies in the current investment treaty context and assesses the potential role of domestic courts in future treaty frameworks that could emerge from the States’ current efforts to reform the system.The book concludes that, in certain areas of interaction between domestic courts and international investment tribunals, the “division of labor” between the two bodies is not always optimal, producing inefficiencies that burden the system as a whole. In these areas, there is a need for improvement by introducing a more fruitful allocation of tasks between domestic and international courts and tribunals – whatever form(s) the international mechanism for the settlement of investment disputes may take.Given its scope, the book contributes not only to legal analysis, but also to the policy reflections that are needed for ongoing efforts to reform investor-State dispute settlement.

Investment arbitration has become the key forum to settle disputes between investors and the host state. It is not clear from the arbitration agreements which body of law the arbitrators should apply: national or international. This book examines how the legal framework which the arbitral panels operate in influences which body of law they apply.

Investor State Arbitration In A Changing World Order addresses challenges and reform proposals that dominate contemporary discussion of investor state arbitration. The authors argue that, although important for the institution’s development, current reforms are insufficient to guarantee investor state arbitration’s survival. Instead, if international investment arbitration is to survive and flourish, national governments must distribute more equally the benefits of international investment and trade.

In the course of a single investor-state dispute, an arbitrator may make numerous decisions, from interpreting the treaty or national laws to taking into account case law, customs and policies. In practice, this process raises important issues regarding the consistency of decisions and the predictability and legitimacy of the decision-making process in general. Investment arbitration tribunals have developed a specialised process of legal decision making adapted to the interpretational needs that arise in the context of an investor-state dispute and to the transnational characteristics of the investment arbitration framework. This is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the transnational characteristics of investment arbitration and to analyse the interpretive arguments of investment tribunals and the way they use treaties, precedent, policies, general principles of law and customary law in their decision-making process. Drawing on publicly available arbitral case law supplemented with personal interviews with investment arbitrators, the author touches on such concepts and practices as the following: - an overview of various decision-making genres of arbitral tribunals: attitudinal, economic, strategic and legal; - the legal argumentation triptych of language–rhetoric–dialogue; - the specific language arbitrators have developed when interpreting the law; - how arbitrators use the concepts 'standards', 'rules', 'principles' and 'rights'; - the importance of the legal reasoning of arbitral awards and the role of rhetoric therein; - concepts of 'acceptability', 'audience' and 'legitimacy'; - limitations of the public international law interpretive methodology enshrined in the Vienna Convention; - interpretation of precedents, customary law, general principles of law and policies; - the way national and international legal orders interact in the context of interpretation; and - how decision-making is connected to the issues of predictability, consistency and the rule of law. The core of the book proposes a novel, full- edged dialogical network theory for analysing the interpretation process. As an exemplary demonstration of developing theory to keep up with practice, this unique book provides a deeply engaged means for enhancing the practice of international arbitration. Its introduction of a new field of interdisciplinary analysis employing legal argumentation theories is sure to provide inestimable guidance for institutions and policymakers, especially in light of recent proposals for the creation of a permanent investment arbitration court. Given that unveiling the legal decision-making process is critical for the well-being of the whole dispute resolution procedure, and that being aware of how arbitrators interpret the law can constitute a roadmap for counsel's arguments and approaches when dealing with cross-border disputes, the topic of this book is relevant for both academics and practitioners, and its signifcance can only grow as recourse to investor-state arbitration continues to expand.