The rule of law is one of the yardsticks by which both critics of and apologists for international investment law evaluate the regime, but it has been thus far insufficiently theorised. This chapter offers some thoughts on how the concept of the rule of law might be deployed to justify and...

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 is part 2 of a series on Rule of Law as it relates to international investment issues. The article describes how the system of bilateral investment treaties and other international investment agreements have created a form of rule of law to protect foreign investors against certain...

International investment arbitration can be said to be built on a great asymmetry: on the one hand, foreign investors are endowed with a set of significant rights, most notably the right to initiate disputes before arbitration tribunals; on the other hand, States and citizens of the host State...

In the last decade, there has been a surge in the number of multi-lateral and bilateral investment treaties governments have signed; meanwhile there have been dramatic increases in the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI); and, more recently, the number of claims brought under investment...

The fair and equitable treatment (FET) provision has leapt to prominence in the last 15 years as the principal ground of liability at issue in many if not most investment treaty arbitration claims. In debates about the impact of investment treaties on the right to regulate, FET is second only to...

Intellectual property is routinely regulated by international investment agreements (‘IIAs’) as a protected class of investment. However, it has only emerged as a subject of investment claims in recent years and in relatively few niche cases, and as such the relationship between intellectual...

The question of the existence of legal protection for foreign investors under customary international law (or “custom”) has always been controversial. As a result of this perceived lack of established customary principles, States concluded thousands of bilateral investment treaties in the...

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...

This paper exams two mega-regional FTAs under negotiation at the time of writing, namely the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and exams what the implications may be - particularly of new rules in regulatory sectors hitherto untouched by...