There is a growing interplay between international investment law, arbitration and human rights. This book offers a systematic analysis of this interaction, exploring the role of principles of justice in investment law, comparing investment arbitration with other courts, and examining case studies on human rights.

In Investor – state arbitration and human rights Filip Balcerzak examines the interrelations between human rights and international investment law. The work discusses whether, and how, human rights arguments may be presented in the course of arbitral proceedings based on investment treaties. The work identifies three model situations, derived from existing arbitral jurisprudence, which provide the backdrop and methodological tool underpinning the book’s legal analysis. The work considers the perspectives of both host states and investors and analyzes all stages of arbitral proceedings – jurisdiction, admissibility, merits, compensation and costs – to determine the potential impact of human rights on the outcome of proceedings.

Policies aimed at the expansion of transnational capital are sometimes implemented at the expense of growing social inequality and popular frustration in host countries. This timely and deeply researched volume identifies – and offers new insights into – the growing use of and reliance upon international environmental and human rights law in the arbitration of investor–State disputes. It presents a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to the most effective way to connect international investment law to the protection of human rights and the environment. Based on an analysis of 30 arbitral awards, this book demonstrates how recent investment treaty arbitration – and in particular respondent States’ argumentation in arbitral proceedings – highlights the human rights and environmental considerations connected with such factors as the following: the fair and equitable treatment (FET) clause; jurisdictional obstacles; treaty conflict; role of amici curiae; damages; tribunal’s dilution of the significance of environmental and human rights law; corporate social responsibility; free, prior, and informed consent; social license to operate; and (in)applicability of the systemic approach to the interpretation of investment treaties. As investment arbitration continues to be challenged by growing demands for greater public involvement and for participation of third parties that are affected by the proceedings, this book responds to the need to reshape the investment regime into more human rights and environmentally friendly system. It will prove an invaluable resource for arbitral institutions, academics, arbitrators, arbitration counsel, and other participants in investment treaty arbitration.

Damages in Investor-State Arbitration: Current Issues and Challenges addresses specificities of the assessment of damages in investor-state disputes, reflecting the tensions between the sovereignty and self-determination of states and their legal obligations towards foreign investors. These tensions are primarily present in the context of compensation for expropriation, but other commitments of host states undertaken in bilateral investment treaties and contracts with foreign investors may also be in conflict with changing political and economic circumstances. With this background, the calculation of damages becomes a complex endeavor in each case. The lack of valuation principles that are uniformly accepted and implemented leads to uncertainty and unpredictability in practice. The present analysis tries to identify the most important issues and challenges, such as the choice of the valuation date, appropriate valuation methods, moral damages, and the awarding of interest.

Human rights matters are increasingly becoming interwoven with Arbitration. The fact that, so far, international human rights norms are, as a matter of international law, not directly applicable on a horizontal level -- that is, in the relation between foreign investors and other private parties -- makes it not straightforward to bring claims based on the breach by the foreign investor of human rights obligations before a treaty-based arbitral tribunal. Instead, such obligations exist mainly on the domestic legal level. Also, traditionally, international investment treaties are silent on issues of human rights. Although states have recently effectively included references to human rights norms in their bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and other multilateral treaties (MITs), such as the recently negotiated Draft Pan-African Investment Code (PAIC), the vast majority of contemporary BITs do not mention human rights.There is a global increase in the use of International arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism especially in international investment disputes and the debates on: (I) obligations of foreign investors to respect human rights of host states, and (II) whether the state can sufficiently maintain policy space alongside Investment treaty obligations with International Investors and the feasibility of enforceability of an award arising from investor-state dispute.The overlap between arbitration and human right matters in Investment arbitration brings to fore the inseparability of these two seemingly distinct areas. The nagging question has been the impact of Investment treaties on the ability of the state to enforce policies which safeguard human rights and the extent of the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal in Human right matters arising from International Investment agreements. This is essential because most international arbitration agreements are based on Bilateral or Multilateral investment treaties. The relationship between human rights and international investment law manifests itself in different contexts and directions. Two general and broad approaches concerning human rights law exist from the perspective of investment protection: human rights can be used to support or enlarge claims of investors or they can be used to strengthen the state's defence of its actions which are taken to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Similarly, investment law can be viewed in two different ways from the perspective of human rights: it can be seen as creating restrictions on the state's ability to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of occupants of the state; it may also be perceived as a breach of individual rights of investors under international investment law. This work will discuss the application of arbitration in International Investment disputes, in particular relation to emergence of Human right matters in arbitration of Investor-state disputes. It will consider the circumstances under which human rights concerns can be raised before an arbitral tribunal set up under a BIT, when and how this can be done, the limited jurisdiction of tribunals over human rights matters, and the challenge of finding a balance where there is an overlap between Human rights and arbitration.

In Investors, States, and Arbitrators in the Crosshairs of International Investment Law and Environmental Protection, Dr Crina Baltag and Ylli Dautaj look at the investor-State dispute settlement system and inquire whether this is the most suitable transnational venue for resolving investment disputes that have an environmental component.

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.

At the nexus between international investment law, climate law, and human rights law, States’ obligations to protect foreign investments clash with their right – or even their duty – to regulate to protect the planet and people. State efforts at climate change mitigation and adaptation have already triggered claims of liability under the investor-protection provisions of bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. In this comprehensive elaboration on the topic, stellar experts and practitioners describe different types of climate-related investment disputes, provide a thorough analysis of the unique procedural issues that emerge in such disputes, and evaluate the proper balance between States’ right to regulate to fight climate change and their obligations towards foreign investors. Each of the book’s contributions offers a penetrating perspective on this complex matter, touching on such aspects as the following: investment disputes arising from States’ climate measures or actions; whether and how states can file counterclaims against investors in such disputes; the appropriate role for climate science at various stages of arbitration; how to assess damages in cases involving fossil assets left stranded by the climate transition; and whether, on balance, existing international investment law supports or hinders the global energy transition. Along the way, arbitrators and other practitioners will gain insight into how to argue, defend, and assess climate-related investment disputes, using not only investment-treaty case law but also international climate agreements, human rights law, and environmental law. Policymakers are shown ways to design and implement climate policy and investment treaties in order to avoid claims by foreign investors. For policymakers, treaty and contract negotiators, dispute resolution lawyers, and international organizations, no other resource provides such incisive discussion of how to balance treaty-based investment protection against states’ inherent duty to regulate in the public interest.

Civil Society in Investment Treaty Arbitration: Status and Prospects provides an overview of the evolution of civil society’s participation as amicus curiae before ICSID tribunals and ad hoc tribunals applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. That evolution fits within a broader movement towards transparency in investment treaty arbitration. By looking at the procedural roles available to civil society before other jurisdictions, the book questions whether the amicus role could be expanded. El-Hosseny ultimately shows how substance and procedure closely intertwine. The issue of civil society’s participation in investment treaty arbitration transcends the procedural realm. It is equally about arbitral tribunals’ openness vis-à-vis public interest, environmental protection and human rights issues—a crucial consideration in ongoing debates over the legitimacy, and future, of investor-state arbitration.

The book considers the ways in which the international investment law regime intersects with the human rights regime, and the potential for clashes between the two legal orders. Within the human rights regime states may be obligated to regulate, including a duty to adopt regulation aiming at improving social standards and conditions of living for their population. Yet, states are increasingly confronted with the consequences of such regulation in investment disputes, where investors seek to challenge regulatory interferences for example in expropriation claims. Regulatory measures may for instance interfere with the investment by imposing conditions on investors or negatively affecting the value of the investment. As a consequence, investors increasingly seek to challenge regulatory measures in international investment arbitration on the basis of a bilateral investment treaty. This book sets out the nature and the scope of the right to regulate in current international investment law. The book examines bilateral investment treaties and ICSID arbitrations looking at the indicative parameters that are granted weight in practice in expropriation claims delimiting compensable from non-compensable regulation. The book places the potential clash between the right to regulate and international investment law within a theoretical framework which describes the stability-flexibility dilemma currently inherent within international law. Lone Wandahl Mouyal goes on to set out methods which could be employed by both BIT-negotiators and adjudicators of investment disputes, allowing states to exercise their right to regulate while at the same time providing investors with legal certainty. The book serves as a valuable tool, an added perspective, for academics as well as for practitioners dealing with aspects of international investment law.