This book offers an up-to-date, scholarly overview of the law of foreign investment, incorporating a thorough and succinct 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 unduly restrict the right of host governments to implement their public policy, including the protection of the environment and human rights, and the promotion of social and economic justice within the host country, on the other. Since the first edition was published a number of landmark decisions have been produced by various international investment tribunals, calling for an update in what is a fast growing and rapidly changing investment environment. In addition, scholars and other actors, both non-governmental and inter-governmental, have responded to the agenda set by the first edition of this book; thus the second edition also reflects on the work of some of these major actors in the field. This is perhaps the first book of its type authored by an international lawyer who has taught, researched and advised in both the developed and developing world over the past 25 years. The wealth of experience he brings to the task enables him to develop unique insights into the interplay between the law, economics and politics of foreign investment, making this book essential reading for students, scholars, practitioners and diplomats interested in the contemporary law of foreign investment.

In a context of neoliberal globalization, have the processes of elaboration and implementation of foreign investors' responsibilities by intergovernmental organizations reached the realm of legality? Using an analytical framework and a methodology that combines international law with international relations, this book provides a twofold answer to this question. First, it demonstrates that the normative integration of foreign investors' responsibilities in international investment law is fragmented and consistent with the interests of the most powerful actors. Second, while using the interactional theory of international law to assess the normative character of several international instruments elaborated and implemented by intergovernmental organizations, it highlights the sense of obligation that each instrument generates. The analysis demonstrates that such a codification process is marked by relations of power and has resulted in several social norms, with relatively few legal norms.

Bringing together conceptual theories of international investment law with the practical application of the law in treaty arbitration, this book investigates the key controversies in the field. It provides a detailed examination of how a different theoretical approach would have led to a different outcome in a number of important arbitral awards.

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.

Lex Petrolea and International Investment Law: Law and Practice in the Persian Gulf offers readers a detailed analysis of jurisprudence on the settlement of upstream petroleum disputes between host states in the Persian Gulf and foreign investors. Dr Nima Mersadi Tabari considers the historical, political, and socio-economic roots of the existing frameworks and levels of protection offered to foreign investors. With particular focus on petroleum-related disputes, he initially delivers a comprehensive survey of the jurisprudence of international investment law and investment treaty arbitration. Following on from this, in three dedicated chapters, the author provides in-depth analysis of the legal regimes governing the matter in the major producers of the region: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. A key resource for all professionals working on legal issues arising from foreign direct investments in natural resources, this book draws a detailed picture of the legal regime governing the upstream sector in the most important geographical region for the international oil and gas sector.

An examination of the origins of international investment law and their continued resonance in the twenty-first century.

A new edition connecting extracts from arbitral decisions, treaties and scholarly works with concise, up-to-date and reliable commentary.

Written by leading experts in the field, this collection offers a critical and comparative analysis of the existing case law on international investment law. The book makes a topical contribution to the existing literature, showing most notably that: (1) international investment law has a longer history than that generally considered and that this history is fundamental to understanding its development; (2) international investment law is crafted today by a large number of actors. These include not only investment arbitrators, but also a variety of international and national courts and tribunals; and (3) the literature and case law in languages other than English and from different legal cultures is essential to grasp the essence of the development of the topic. This book brings together more than 40 experts from different countries and legal traditions and combines conceptual analysis and archival investigation of landmark case law to provide the reader with a fresh and innovative understanding of the breadth of international investment law.

Jürgen Kurtz provides a theoretically grounded and doctrinally tractable framework to understand the relationship between international trade and investment law.