This issue paper, titled “Legal and Systemic Contested issues in Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and WTO Rules: Which Way Now?”, and written by Dr Cosmas Milton Obote O’chieng, is a contribution to this process. The paper provides a legal analysis of some systemic issues regarding...

In international law, all tribunals, whether arbitral or judicial, are of attributed jurisdiction. The attribution of this jurisdiction is based on state consent and is limited by the terms thereof. Yet, the rigours of state consent to investment dispute settlement have been eroded through the...

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) provide investors in natural resource projects with stability. Specifically, dispute settlement provisions, a feature of most modern BITs, allow investors to make claims against the host state for alleged breaches of the BIT However, some such provisions...

This article is purposed to introduce an upcoming research starting in September, 2013 on a complex issue arising in the theory and practice of modern investor-state arbitration. To this end, readers are encouraged to treat this research summary as interactive and to contact the author with...

The WTO has not been able to recover since the collapse of the Doha Round in July 2008. Several ministerial conferences including the Buenos Aires meeting in December 2017 failed to reach agreement. The US Trump Administration launched a campaign to reform the WTO in 2018 and 2019. This book...

Many BITs contain the so-called MFN clause, under which a host State may not treat the relevant investment less favorably than the investment of an investor from any other country. Much confusion, however, has arisen on the question of whether an investor may rely on an MFN clause to invoke the...

The general agreement on trade in services -- The framework of GATS -- GATS interpretation -- GATS scope of application -- Rules of origin -- The most favoured nation principle -- Schedules of specific commitments -- National treatment -- Market access -- Economic integration agreements -- GATS...