Reconceptualizing International Investment Law from the Global South


Book Description

This book shows how the current reform in investment regulation is part of a broader attempt to transform the international economic order. Countries in the North and South are currently rethinking how economic order should be constituted in order to advance their national interests and preferred economic orientation. While some countries in the North seek to create alternative institutional spaces in order to promote neoliberal policies more effectively, some countries in the South are increasingly skeptical of this version of economic order and are experimenting with alternative versions of legal ordering that do not always sit well with mainstream versions promoted by the North. While we recognize that there are differences in approaches to the investment regimes proposed by countries in the South, we identify commonalities that could function as the founding pillars of an alternative economic order.







International Investment Law


Book Description

'...This book [...] goes beyond stating what the law is and focuses on controversies occurring within this area of the law... an excellent introduction to this complex area of international law for newcomers to the subject' Kate Miles, Australian International Law Journal The updated edition of this acclaimed book offers a critical overview of the law of foreign investment, incorporating a thorough analysis of the principles and standards of treatment available to foreign investors in international law. It is authoritative and multi-layered, offering an analysis of the key issues and an insightful assessment of recent trends in the case law, from both developed and developing country perspectives. A major feature of the book is that it deals with the tension between the law of foreign investment and other competing principles of international law. In doing so, it proposes ways of achieving a balance between these principles and the need to protect the legitimate rights and expectations of foreign investors on the one hand, and the need not to restrict unduly the right of host governments to implement their public policy on the other, including the protection of the environment and human rights, and the promotion of social and economic justice within the host country. Many of the pioneering ideas that were advanced in the first edition of this book have been taken up by governments and international organisations in their attempts to reform the investor-State dispute settlement mechanism and strike a balance between different competing principles in developing international investment law. Accordingly, this fifth edition captures the essence of the ongoing multiple reform processes – either planned or envisaged – currently underway.




International Investment Law and Policy in Africa


Book Description

This book studies the international investment law regime in Africa and provides a comprehensive analysis of the current treaty practices in Africa from global, regional and domestic perspectives. It develops a public interest regulation theory to highlight the role of investment regulation in sustainable development and the protection of human rights. In doing so, the book identifies seven factors that should be considered by arbitrators in resolving international investment disputes that affect the public interest. It considers how corporations can be held accountable through investment treaties in the absence of a global treaty on business and human rights while protecting the rights of investors and their investments. Furthermore, the book explores the current objectives and features of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) as well as the deficiencies and its intersection with the rule of law. It identifies alternatives for ISDS and the extent to which these alternatives address the objectives of attracting investment, depoliticise investment disputes, promote the rule of law and offer remedies to investors. These solutions are offered in relation to the protection of human rights, the promotion of sustainable development and the right of states to introduce domestic public interest regulation. Finally, the book takes a prospective stance and discusses future trends for dispute settlement and investment rulemaking in Africa.




Asia's Changing International Investment Regime


Book Description

This book focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, delineating the evolving dynamics of foreign investment in the region. It examines the relationship between efforts to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) and efforts to improve governance and inclusive growth and development. Against a background of rapidly developing international investment law, it emphasises the need to strike a balance between these domestic and international legal frameworks, seeking to promote both foreign investment and the laws and policies necessary to regulate investments and investor conduct. Foreign investments play a pivotal role in most countries’ political economies, and in order to encourage cross-border capital flows, countries have taken various steps, such as revising their domestic legal frameworks, liberalising rules on inward and outward investment, and creating special regimes that provide incentives and protections for foreign investment. Alongside the developments in domestic laws, countries have also taken bilateral and multilateral action, including entering into trade and/or investment agreements. Further, the book explores regional investment trends, highlights specific features of Asia-Pacific investment laws and treaties, and analyses policy implications. It addresses four overarching themes: the trends (how Asia-Pacific’s agreements compare with recent global trends in the evolving rules on foreign investment); what China is doing; current investment arbitration practice in Asia; and the importance of regionalising investment law in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, it identifies and discusses the research and policy gaps that should be filled in order to promote more sustainable and responsible investment. The book offers a valuable resource not only for academics and students, but also for trade and investment officials, policy-makers, diplomats, economists, lawyers, think tanks, and business leaders interested in the governance and regulation of foreign investment, economic policy reforms, and the development of new types of investment agreements.




Investment Treaties and the Legal Imagination


Book Description

This book brings a new perspective to the subject of international investment law, by tracing the origins of foreign investor rights. It shows how a group of business leaders, bankers, and lawyers in the mid-twentieth century paved the way for our current system of foreign investment relations, and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.




Shifting Paradigms in International Investment Law


Book Description

International investment law is in transition. Whereas the prevailing mindset has always been the protection of the economic interests of individual investors, new developments in international investment law have brought about a paradigm shift. There is now more than ever before an interest in a more inclusive, transparent, and public regime. Shifting Paradigms in International Investment Law addresses these changes against the background of the UNCTAD framework to reform investment treaties. The book analyses how the investment treaty regime has changed and how it ought to be changing to reconcile private property interests and the state's duty to regulate in the public interest. In doing so, the volume tracks attempts in international investment law to recalibrate itself towards a more balanced, less isolated, and increasingly diversified regime. The individual chapters of this edited volume address the contents of investment agreements, the system of dispute settlement, the interrelation of investment agreements with other areas of public international law, constitutional questions, and new regional perspectives from Europe, South Africa, the Pacific Rim Region, and Latin America. Together they provide an invaluable resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. The individual chapters of this edited volume address the contents of investment agreements, the system of dispute settlement, the interrelation of investment agreements with other areas of public international law, constitutional questions, and new regional perspectives from Europe, South Africa, the Pacific Rim Region, and Latin America. Together they provide an invaluable resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.




The Evolving International Investment Regime


Book Description

With the growth of the global economy over the past two decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) laws, at both the national and international levels, have undergone rapid development in order to strengthen the protection standards for foreign investors. In terms of international investment law, a network of international investment agreements has arisen as a way to address FDI growth. FDI backlash, reflective of more restrictive regulation, has also emerged. The Evolving International Investment Regime analyzes the existing challenges to the international investment regime, and addresses these challenges going forward. It also examines the dynamics of the international regime, as well as a broader view of the changing global economic reality both in the United States and in other countries. The content for the book is a compendium of articles by leading thinkers, originating from the International Investment Conference "What's New in International Investment Law and Policy?"




International Environmental Law and the Global South


Book Description

Situating the global poverty divide as an outgrowth of European imperialism, this book investigates current global divisions on environmental policy.




Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy


Book Description

The Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy is a one-stop reference source. This Handbook covers the main conceptual questions in a logical, scholarly yet easy to comprehend manner. It is based on a truly global vision insisting particularly on Global South related issues and developments. In this respect, the Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy provides an excellent modern treatment of international investment law which is one of the fastest growing areas of international economic law. Professor Julien Chaisse, Professor Leïla Choukroune, and Professor Sufian Jusoh are the editors-in-chief of the Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy, a 1,500-page reference book, which is anticipated becoming one of the most influenced reference books in the international economic law areas. This Handbook is a highly comprehensive set of four volumes of original materials designed to cover all facets of international investment law and policy. The chapters, written by world-leading experts, explore key ideas and debates in relation to: international investment substantive law (Volume I), Investor-state dispute settlement (Volume II); interaction between international investment law and other fields of international law (Volume III); and, the new trends and challenges for international investment law (Volume IV). The Handbook will feature more than 80 contributions from leading experts (academics, lawyers, government officials), including Vivienne Bath, M. Sornarajah, Mélida Hodgson, Rahul Donde, Roberto Echandi, Andrew Mitchell, Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, Christina L. Beharry, Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer, Leon Trakman, Prabhash Ranjan, Emmanuel Jacomy, Mariel Dimsey, Stavros Brekoulakis, Romesh Weeramantry, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, David Collins, Damilola S. Olawuyi, Katia Fach Gomez, Jaemin Lee, Alejandro Carballo-Leyda, Patrick W. Pearsall, Mark Feldman, Surya Deva, Luke Nottage, Rafael Leal-Arcas, James Nedumpara, Rodrigo Polanco, etc. This Handbook will be an essential reference tool for students and scholars of international economic law. Policy makers and researchers alike will find the Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy useful for years to come.