The reform option on the Standing Multilateral Mechanism (SMM) currently under discussion at UNCITRAL's Working Group III (WGIII) has raised a number of important, systemic concerns for the procedural reforms of investor-State dispute settlement. This paper first seeks to situate the discussions...

In recent years, the negotiation and conclusion of international investment agreements (IIAs) in Latin America has gone hand-in-hand with a rethinking of investment standards and the elaboration of new IIA models. This is evident, among others, in Brazil’s cooperation and facilitation...

International investment law is undergoing a time of reflection, review and revision. Increasing dissatisfaction with the functioning of the current system that governs the protection of international investment and the wish to ensure that investment is channelled towards sustainable development...

This paper scrutinizes the effects of investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) and national treatment provisions in a two-period model where foreign investment is subject to domestic regulation and a holdup problem. It shows that ISDS can mitigate the holdup problem and increases aggregate...

October 24, 2016 – CETA's investment dispute provisions have become a lightning rod for critics of the trade pact within Europe, but in its current form, the CETA text represents a significant improvement from past trade and investment deals according to a new report from the C.D. Howe...

The ability of foreign investors to choose international arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism can create significant problems. Lack of coherence and discrimination regarding regulation can arise from the resolution of substantive issues, whereas concerns about transparency and fairness...

Claims by company shareholders seeking damages from governments for so-called "reflective loss" now make up a substantial part of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) caseload. (Shareholders' reflective loss is incurred as a result of injury to "their" company, typically a loss in value...