The aim of this paper is to explore the political dimensions of investment arbitration. What drives the structures and rules of this institution of private-transnational dispute settlement? To define political dimensions and develop the basis of a political explanation of investment arbitration,...

Are economic, social and cultural rights actually taken into account when arbitration or adjudicating bodies (panels or tribunals) seek to solve disputes arising under international economic law (IEL)? The term ‘human rights' is seldom applied in the substantive provisions of trade or...

This article examines the potential challenges for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) through International Investment Agreements (IIAs) in light of the new generation of IIAs negotiated by the European Union (EU). It argues that it will be difficult in practice to succeed in...

The 2009 Lisbon Treaty transferred the competence over Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy from the national to the supranational level. This article analyses the impact of this transfer on the content of international investment agreements and, more broadly, the shape of the investment...

The article analyses recent developments occurred both in the EU and in MERCOSUR in the field of investment law. The study departs from the EU legal order, and continues with an examination of the developments occurred in the MERCOSUR at both national and regional level. Special attention is...

An investment chapter in TTIP offers an unprecedented opportunity to reform and improve the system of investment law. If the EU and the US seize this opportunity, it would set an important precedent in treaty-drafting, allowing for the incorporation of public policy objectives, thereby...

This paper presents an informal cost-benefit analysis of the inclusion of investment protection provisions, including investor-state arbitration, in an investment chapter in TTIP. The analysis is conducted from the perspective of the EU and its member states. It argues that there is little...

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has been creating expectations and stirring fears ever since it was announced by EU Commission President Barroso and US President Obama in mid-2013. The promise to boost trans-Atlantic economic exchange in the world's largest free-trade area...

This article is meant to contribute to the discussion of the relationship between EU and international law. It focuses on bilateral investment agreements between EU Member States (intra-EU BITs), the majority of which will continue to have practical relevance. So how should one deal with a...

In this report we present the results of our econometric investigation of the role of (1) stabilisation and association agreements (SAAs), (2) bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and (3) free trade agreements (FTAs) in the Western Balkans and their impact on the region's inward foreign direct...