"A textbook summary of how international investment law developed over the past fifty years may go something like this. States signed thousands of largely similar international investment agreements (IIAs) to protect the property of their investors abroad. Most of these IIAs allowed foreign investors to sue host states via investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) for treaty breaches. ISDS was barely used until the late 1990s. When ISDS claims finally surged, states realized that their treaties offered greater investment protection than intended. States reacted by narrowing the commitments offered in newly concluded agreements. This backlash against investment arbitration resulted in a "new generation" of IIAs that rebalanced investment protection and host state regulatory autonomy"--

Investor-State disputes are increasing and damage awards are often significant. It is thus no surprise that the investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) system has come under scrutiny. Perceptions have arisen that ISDS is inconsistent, lacks transparency, and is simply unfair. This book delves into the ongoing worldwide debate and discussions regarding the ISDS system. Drawing contributors from around the world, the authors provide insights on critical topics and address the key question facing the ISDS system and the international community it serves: Should the present ISDS system be reformed, replaced, or simply remain as is? The contributors represent points of view ranging from academia to practice to governmental entities, addressing such topics as: the possible consequences of wholesale replacement or elimination of the current ISDS system; mediation as an alternative to resolve ISDS disputes; the creation of a multinational investment court or appellate review mechanism; lack of an early dismissal mechanism to eliminate meritless claims; issues regarding arbitrators, including their appointment and ethical obligations; how investors may retain their right to pursue claims for violations of investment protection following termination of an agreement; a State’s right to assert a counterclaim against an investor-claimant; the role of ISDS in promoting and protecting renewable energy production; the liability of State-controlled entities; the effects and implications of third-party funding; the duty to mitigate damages in the light of excessive damages awards; and improvements and issues relating to post-award enforcement, duration, and cost of ISDS. This book considers the ongoing deliberations and reform measures proposed by UNCITRAL’s Working Group III and provides insights into how several geographic regions and economic cooperation areas have sought to address the question of reform of the ISDS system, including the European Union, the Middle East, and the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. With its much-needed and deeply informed balancing of investor and State rights and duties, this book will be welcomed by all who practise in the ISDS field, including arbitrators, State governments and non-governmental organizations, regional economic organizations, and international investors.

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 concise and insightful book studies the role of the ISDS mechanism in the legalization, and legitimacy, of the international investment law regime. Providing an interdisciplinary perspective on ISDS through the constructivist theory of international relations, this book argues that reforming ISDS can contribute to the legalization of international investment law, but such a contribution is subject to both “institutional” and “internal” limitations.

In this substantially revised and updated second edition, this work examines the intersection of EU law and international arbitration based on the experience of leading practitioners in both commercial and investment treaty arbitration law. It expertly illustrates the depth and breadth of EU lawÕs impact on party autonomy and on the margin of appreciation available to arbitral tribunals. This second edition covers all relevant new developments in law and practice, and tracks the ever-increasing influence of EU law and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in international arbitration.

Are courts resisting the rise of legal limitations to state action caused by investment treaty commitments? This book pioneers a unique analysis of both investment law and comparative constitutional law by examining how a selection of the highest courts around the world have addressed this potential discord.

This edited volume provides an in-depth study of customary international law and its interpretation in international investment law.

Volume 25 of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) sheds light on the interplay between IHL and other adjacent branches of international law. This Volume moves beyond the traditional preoccupation of examining IHL’s relations with international human rights law, the law on the use of force and international criminal law. Authors were invited to discuss, both in general and specific terms, doctrinally and theoretically, interactions between IHL and other neighbouring frameworks. Accordingly, this Volume is dedicated to exploring the interrelationship between IHL and other adjacent frameworks, such as international environmental law, international investment law, the law on defences to state responsibility, and counter-terrorism law. The Volume contains four articles dedicated to the subject of IHL and neighbouring frameworks. The Volume further features a Focus section on IHL controversies arising from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and ends, as usual, with a Year in Review section. The Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law is a leading annual publication devoted to the study of international humanitarian law. The Yearbook has always strived to be at the forefront of the debate of pressing doctrinal questions of IHL, and will continue to do so in the future. As this Volume demonstrates, it offers a space where IHL-related issues can be explored both from a doctrinal and a theoretical perspective. It provides an international forum for high-quality, peer-reviewed academic articles focusing on this crucial branch of international law. Distinguished by contemporary relevance, the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law bridges the gap between theory and practice and serves as a useful reference tool for scholars, practitioners, military personnel, civil servants, diplomats, human rights workers, and students.

Once seen as aspirational and relatively innocuous, 'sustainability' or 'sustainable development' provisions are now changing the face of international trade agreements. The Sustainability Revolution in International Trade Agreements gathers fundamental, first-hand analyses of these novel commitments across dozens of agreements, considering their legal, political, and economic aspects. Drawing on perspectives from different parts of the world and engaging experts in the law and practice of sustainability provisions, this volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the latest developments and innovations in international trade agreements. It also evaluates the development challenges that sustainability requirements pose for countries with limited resources and capacity, for whom lower labour and environmental regulatory costs have been a competitive asset. The present volume explores the intersectional aspects of sustainability - such as gender equality, biodiversity, animal welfare, and Indigenous rights - in addition to the more traditional dimensions of sustainability, namely economic development, environmental conservation, and improvement of labour standards. There is little doubt that a sustainability revolution in global production patterns is needed. Considering the details of its operation - how it can come into being, who will bear the increased production costs, and how decisions on difficult trade-offs will be made - reveals the immense challenges involved in developing a new international law for sustainable trade. Read together, the chapters in this volume outline the contours this emerging legal framework, examine its practical operation, and offer important reflections upon the real extent and the foreseeable consequences of this sustainability revolution in international trade agreements.