Since the Argentine financial crisis of 2001-2002, bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) have increasingly come under the spotlight as a means by which foreign investors can enforce their rights against the host State of their investment. These rights come in the form of various substantive...

Under the Restatement (Third) of Trusts, the prudent investor rule states that “The trustee is under a duty to the beneficiaries to invest and manage the funds of the trust as a prudent investor would, in light of the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the...

This paper addresses treaty-based investor-state arbitration (ISA) and other forms of investor-state dispute settlement. The topic has become particularly controversial for Australia, given its ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Japan – which is also considering joining...

States across Asia have long engaged in international investment treaty making, and to a lesser extent in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) proceedings. Engagement has intensified partly as bilateral investment treaties (BITs) proliferated especially from the 1990s, but also Asian states...

In 2016 and 2017, states continued their engagement with international investment law. A small minority of states displayed scepticism or tried to disengage themselves from their investment law obligations. This chapter addresses select institutional developments in international investment law...

It is accepted that a breach of an international investment agreement does not necessarily constitute a breach or violation of an investment treaty or international law norm applicable between an international investor and a host state. It is common that the adjudication of breaches of these...

Many similarities and occasional differences are evident in New Zealand (as explained in Part 2) and Australia (Part 3) concerning their laws screening foreign direct investment (FDI) and current approaches towards investment treaties, including the now politically sensitive issue of...

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement was signed in February 2016 by 12 Asia-Pacific economies that already account for 40% of world GDP, including the United States, Japan and Australia. If ratified, economists model significant economic growth prospects, especially for smaller and/or...

This paper outlines the historical evolution of Australia's foreign direct investment (FDI) regulation generally, under national law and more recently bilateral investment treaties (BITs) or investment chapters of free trade agreements (FTAs). This sets the stage for closer analysis of the...