Improving International Investment Agreements

Description

This book presents the reflections of a group of researchers interested in assessing whether the law governing the promotion and protection of foreign investment reflects sound public policy. Whether it is the lack of "checks and balances" on investor rights or more broadly the lack of balance between public rights and private interests, the time is ripe for an in-depth discussions of current challenges facing the international investment law regime. Through a survey of the evolution in IIA treaty-making and an evaluation from different perspectives, the authors take stock of developments in international investment law and analyze potential solutions to some of the criticisms that plague IIAs. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, with expert analysis from legal, political and economic scholars. The first part of the book traces the evolution of IIA treaty-making whilst the other three parts are organised around the concepts of efficiency, legitimacy and sustainability. Each contributor analyzes one or more issues related to substance, treaty negotiation, or dispute resolution, with the ultimate aim of improving IIA treaty-making in these respects. Improving International Investment Agreements will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of International Investment Law, International Trade Law, Business and Economics. Cover......Page 1 Improving International Investment Agreements......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Editors’ preface......Page 12 List of contributors......Page 14 Table of abbreviations......Page 18 Editors’ notes on references......Page 20 Introduction......Page 22 Part I IIA treaty-making: evolution and evaluation......Page 34 1 Developments in IIA treaty-making......Page 36 2 The evolution of IIA practice in Canada and the United States......Page 46 3 The evolving role of the European Union in IIA treaty-making......Page 63 4 The evolution of Chinese approaches to IIAs......Page 80 5 A quantitative perspective on trends in IIA rules......Page 97 6 The costs and benefits of IIAs to developing countries: an economic perspective......Page 114 Part II Efficiency......Page 134 7 Investment provisions in regional trade agreements: a more efficient solution?......Page 136 8 Increasing the use of alternative dispute resolution in IIAs......Page 156 9 Is it necessary to avoid substantive and procedural overlaps with other agreements in IIAs?......Page 179 Part III Legitimacy......Page 198 10 Corporate investors’ international legal personality and their accountability for human rights violations under IIAs......Page 200 11 Investor misconduct......Page 216 12 Balancing IIA arbitration through the use of counterclaims......Page 233 13 Issues of corporate nationality in investment arbitration......Page 251 14 Enhancing the legitimacy of international investment law by establishing an appellate mechanism......Page 268 Part IV Sustainability......Page 286 15 The use of general exceptions in IIAs: increasing legitimacy or uncertainty?......Page 288 16 Sustainable development and IIAs: from objective to practice......Page 305 17 Direct taxation, tax treaties and IIAs: mixed objectives, mixed results......Page 324 18 The impact of international law on IIA interpretation......Page 344 19 The contribution of international investment law to public international law......Page 363 Table of treaties and international instruments......Page 378 Table of cases......Page 387 Bibliography......Page 397 Index......Page 431