This book provides an original and critical analysis of the most contentious subjects being negotiated in the China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). It focuses on the pathway of reforming investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from both Chinese and European perspectives in the context of the China–EU CAI and beyond. The book is divided into three parts. Part I examines key and controversial issues of the China–EU CAI negotiations, including market access, sustainable development and human rights, as well as comparing distinct features between the China–EU CAI and the China–US BIT. Part II concentrates on the institutional reform of investor-state arbitration with an extensive analysis of the EU’s approach to replacing the private nature of investment arbitration with the public nature of an investment court. Part III addresses the core substantive and procedural issues concerning ISDS, such as the role of domestic courts in investment dispute settlement, the status of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as investors, transparency and the protection of victims in investment dispute resolution. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of international investment and trade law, particularly investment dispute settlement.

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty entails sweeping changes with respect to foreign investment regulation. Most prominently, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) now contains in its Article 207 an explicit competence for the regulation of foreign direct investment as part of the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) chapter. With this new competence, the EU will become an important actor in the field of international investment politics and law. The new empowerment in the field of international investment law prompts a multitude of questions. This volume analyzes in depth the new “post-Lisbon situation” in the area of investment policy, provokes further discussion and offers new approaches.

The first volume in the Silk Road Studies in International Economic Law Series, China and International Investment Law: Twenty Years of ICSID Membership examines cutting-edge issues of international investment law and arbitration in interaction with China, the second largest economy of the world. With particular attention to ongoing major negotiations of bilateral and regional investment treaties, including the TPP, TTIP and China's BIT negotiations with the EU and USA, the collection is timely, thorough, and incisive. All readers with an interest in the latest developments in international investment law in general, and the Chinese foreign investment regime in particular, will find an indispensable new resource in this collection of essays from esteemed experts in the field. The volume originated from the "China and ICSID" International Workshop and Roundtable on International Investment Law and Arbitration, organized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the ICSID Convention.

In order to understand the reform of international investment law envisioned by the EU, the author provides a comprehensive but concise analysis of the EU reform approaches, its constitutional and legal framework, the concepts of the rule of law and legitimacy, and the reasons for the reform. In particular, the book exposes tensions between the EU aspiration to enhance the rule of law in international investment law, as a means of legitimising this legal discipline, and the challenges of its reform approaches in practice. The analysis combines substantive and procedural aspects of the EU reform of international investment law in the intra-EU context and EU external relations. This book thus critically evaluates the EU vision of the rule of law in international law and its contribution to the development of international law in the field of investment.

This book explores the interaction between the EU and international investment law, both at the internal level, namely within the EU internal market, and at the external level, i.e. in the context of its relations with third States. The joint treatment of these dimensions reveals that the EU has assumed an ostensibly ambivalent attitude towards international investment law. At the internal level, it has consistently asserted that intra-EU international investment agreements (IIAs) are not compatible with EU law and advocated their termination. At the external level, by contrast, it has eagerly deployed IIAs to develop its post-Lisbon international investment policy. The book finds that beneath this apparent ambivalence towards international investment law ultimately lies the EU's attempt to impose, both internally and externally, its own original model of regulation of cross-border investment. It then argues that the EU adopted this approach with a view to supporting its internal market, enhancing its external influence, and, ultimately, pursuing long-term 'federal aspirations'. Finally, the book identifies the legal and political obstacles that have curtailed the EU's efforts at both the internal and the external level.

Regionalism in International Investment Law provides a multinational perspective on international investment law. In it, distinguished academics and practitioners provide a critical and comprehensive understanding of issues in a field which has grown exponentially in its importance particularly over the last decade, focusing on the European Union, Australia, North America, Asia, and China. The book approaches the field of foreign direct investment from both academic and practical viewpoints and analyzes different bilateral, regional, and multinational agreements, often yielding competing perspectives. The academic perspective yields a strong conceptual foundation to often misunderstood elements of international investment law, while the practical perspective aids those actively pursuing foreign direct investment in better understanding the landscape, identifying potential conflicts which may arise, in more accurately assessing the risk underlying the issues in conflict and in resolving those issues. Thorny issues relating to global commerce, sovereignty, regulation, expropriation, dispute resolution, and investor protections are covered, depicting how they have developed and are applied in different regions of the world. These different treatments ensure that readers are able grasp the subject matter at multiple levels and provide a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of foreign direct investment.

This book attempts to illustrate the whole picture of international investment rule of law between China and African countries and find the way forward through combining theory and practice. It is a book by a Chinese professor based on her long-term research experience in the international investment law field and her African field work in person. Its main feature is its well-balanced thinking on the structure of investment international rule of law. It should be the most comprehensive research on the international investment rule of law between China and African countries. With the increase of Chinese investment in Africa, various discussions and viewpoints on Chinese investment in Africa have become striking. The purpose of this book is to explore systematically the protection and sustainability of Chinese investment under the concept and framework of the international investment rule of law, so as to serve the sustainable development of Africa and China. For the purpose of this book, great importance is attached to the idea of the international rule of law, and the international investment law with the function of rule of law is adhered to. The conclusion of this book is that China should take proactive steps to protect Chinese investment in Africa and regulate Chinese overseas investors and their investments in addition to complying with the laws in the host states and thus make them conductive to African and Chinese sustainable development; however, the most significant issue is that China-Africa investment relations should be regulated by the evolving and specific international investment rule of law, and the China-Africa international investment rule of law should conform to normative in form, support common sustainable development in value, and reflect the social reality of China and Africa. For both researchers and students, it is an approach to understand international investment rule of law from a perspective of China and Africa. For those who are interested in China and Africa, it is a useful reference book.

China has developed a piecemeal pattern of regulating foreign investment since the end of 1970s. The latest law is the Foreign Investment Law (FIL), which became effective on 1 January 2020. The groundbreaking new FIL is well acknowledged for its promises and affirmations pledged to investors, signalling China’s eagerness to improve its investment environment and regain momentum for investment growth. This book provides an updated and holistic understanding of the key features of the regulatory regime on foreign investment in China with critical analysis of laws and their implementation. It also examines sensitive and complex legal issues relevant to foreign investment beyond the 2020 FIL and new developments on foreign-related dispute settlement. The book uses cases of success and failure to illustrate the nuances and differences between law and practice regarding foreign investment. Considering China’s magnitude in the global economy and the weighty role of the regulatory system on foreign investment in China, this book is of great interest to a wide range of audience including academics in the field of investment law, legal practitioners, policymakers, and master's students in law and in management.

The regulation of foreign investment represents one of the most topical and controversial subjects in European Union law and international investment law. EU foreign investment law is emerging as a critically important issue, particularly since the introduction of EU competence over foreign direct investment after the Lisbon Treaty and the recent successful challenge of the compatibility of Member States Bilateral Investment Treaties with EU law. Within this framework, the book sets out to identify whether and to what extent the EU has become an international actor in the field of foreign investment. Exploring the existing legal framework on the scope and exercise of EU competence and its legal effects, it examines the foundations upon which EU investment policy is based and will be based in the future. The book addresses questions relating to the definition of foreign investment; the scope of EU competences; the exercise of EU powers; the substantive content of existing and future EU International Investment Agreements; and the objectives of EU investment policy and its EU law effects. From this grounding, the study widens to scrutinize the influence that the EU exerts on international law and regulation of foreign investment. Paying careful attention to the substantive content and orientation of EU International Investment Agreements, the book takes a comparative approach to the content of Bilateral Investment Treaties, as well as to the ramifications of EU foreign investment regulation for international law, especially with regard to the EU's international responsibility. Taking into account the recent developments in the field, this book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the legal, practical, and political concerns that the creation of an EU common investment policy creates.