ITN Quarterly – Investment Treaty News

ITN September 2023

iNSIGHTS What’s Happening on Investment Facilitation: A survey of recent global developments. By Shantanu Singh. Read Causation and the Broken Chain: An Analysis in light of the Lone Star Award. […]

The Protocol on Investment to the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area: What’s in it and what’s next for the Continent? By Danish, Hamed El-Kady, Makane Moïse Mbengue, Suzy H. Nikièma & Daniel Uribe.

Bridging the Gap Between Investor Rights and Obligations: How academics can contribute to a fairer international law on foreign investment. By Nicolás M. Perrone & Ignacio Andres Vásquez.

Deconstructing India’s Evolving Approach Toward International Investment Agreements. By Harshad Pathak & Shantanu Singh.

The ICJ decides on the content of international protection standards: A lost opportunity? By Josef Ostřanský.

Navigating Trade and Investment Treaties to Develop Indonesia’s Sustainable Electric Vehicle Industry Through Technology Transfer. By Ronald Eberhard Tundang.

ITN March 2023

International investment law and repressive state power: Rethinking a relationship.

“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”: The Code of Conduct and Reflections on the 44th Session of the UNCITRAL Working Group III.

Looking for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Investment in the WTO Draft Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement.

ITN December 2022

Signalling Virtue: Claimant’s use of sustainable development in ISDS.

Screening of Chinese Investments Itensifies.

VCLT’s Article 62: A valid basis for withdrawing from the ECT.

ITN September 2022

IIAs in Singapore and the Rule of Law Promise by Dafina Atanasova

UNCITRAL Working Group III and the Assessment of Compensation and Damages: Thinning scope for impactful reform or an opportunity to make a difference? By Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder & Josef Ostřanský

The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration: What role in improving avenues for victims to access justice? By Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder

ITN June 2022

An interview with Wolfgang Alschner on Investment Arbitration and State-Driven Reform: New Treaties, Old Outcomes. By Wolfgang Alschner & Florencia Sarmiento.

Three key principles for fairer and more effective private sector involvement in international governance processes. By Suzy Nikièma & Sarah Brewin.

The loss compensation clause and the protection and security clause: Two risky provisions neglected by investment treaty reform? By Abas Kinda.

ITN March 2022

How the Energy Charter Treaty risks undermining the outcomes of COP 26. By Lukas Schaugg and Greg Muttitt

On the importance of defining “frivolous” claims in ISDS. By Ksenia Polonskaya

The efforts to modernize the Energy Charter Treaty and the hidden cost of non-derogation clauses. By Dafina Atanasova

The conflict between traditional miners in Marmato and Canadian transnational mining companies: Another ISDS dispute over natural resources in Colombia. By Ximena Sierra-Camargo

The human rights case for robust “in accordance with domestic law” provisions in Africa’s international investment law. By Nicola Soekoe

ITN December 2021

A comparative approach to compensation in international property law claims: What lessons for international investment law? An interview with lead author, Esmé Shirlow

They concern you more than you know: On the perils and potential of international investment agreements for the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and COVID-19 discussions at the WTO. By Dafina Atanasova

Breakthrough in business and human rights binding treaty negotiation but be prepared for a bumpy road ahead. By Joe Zhang

ICSID tribunals fail to address the imbalance between sustainable development principles and investment protections. By Naimeh Masumy

Eco Oro and the twilight of policy exceptionalism. By J. Benton Heath

ITN October 2021

The end of tax incentives: How will a global minimum tax affect tax incentives regimes in developing countries? By Alexandra Readhead, Thomas Lassourd, and Howard Mann

An interview with Esmé Shirlow on Judging at the Interface: Deference to State Decision-Making Authority in International Adjudication. By Esmé Shirlow

The “‘trade-related” conundrum of the EU–Korea FTA Expert Panel: Are FTAs a novel forum to enforce sustainable development goals? By Rebecca Walker

Despite consensus on the ECT’s incompatibility with the global climate agenda, claims that it is well-suited for the clean energy transition persist. By Lea Di Salvatore, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, and Lukas Schaugg

From transparency to prohibition: UNCITRAL WGIII considers options to regulate third-party funding. By Brooke Guven, Lise Johnson, Suzy Nikièma, and Daniel Uribe

ITN June 2021

Virtual negotiations: Lessons from a survey of JSI and UNCITRAL negotiators. By Taylor St John and Zoe Williams

An interview with Nicolás Perrone on Investment Treaties and the Legal Imagination: How Foreign Investors Play By Their Own Rules. By Nicolás M Perrone

Stabilization clauses and implications for human rights and gender equality. By Sangwani Patrick Ng’ambi

Energy Charter Treaty reform: Why withdrawal is an option. By Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Lukas Schaugg, and Amandine Van den Berghe

ITN March 2021

Rethinking investment law from the ground up: Extractivism, human rights, and investment treaties. By Lorenzo Cotula

Corruption and confidentiality in contract-based ISDS: The case of P&ID v Nigeria. By Jonathan Bonnitcha

On proportionality, again: Domesticating international investment law and managing vulnerability. By Daria Davitti

The uncertain future of the Energy Charter Treaty: Belgium asks the European Court of Justice to rule on the compatibility of the modernized ECT with EU law. By Stefanie Schacherer

ITN December 2020

Reconciling the rights of multinational companies under IIAs with the tort liability caused by their subsidiaries, by Pablo Agustín Escobar Ullauri

The return of investment screening as a policy tool, by Jonathan Bonnitcha

Are interpretative declarations appropriate instruments to avoid uncertainty? The cases of the Colombia–France BIT and the Colombia–Israel FTA, by Carolina Olarte-Bacares, Enrique Prieto-Rios & Juan P. Pontón-Serra

Does the investment treaty regime promote good governance? The case of mining in Santurbán, Colombia, by Anna Sands

Corporate investors’ nationality and reforming investment treaties: Can older-generation treaties undermine substantive reforms?, by Anil Yilmaz Vastardis

The human rights binding treaty negotiation from an international investment law perspective, by Joe Zhang

Incorporating corporate social responsibility within investment treaty law and arbitral practice: Progress or fantasy remedy?, by Claire Cutler & David Lark

ITN October 2020

Investment Negotiations at the WTO and the IIA Regime: Anticipating unintended interactions, by Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder & Jonathan Bonnitcha

Explaining Ecuador’s shifting position on FDI, investment treaties, and arbitration, by Juan Carlos Herrera-Quenguan

The need for “Africa-focused” arbitration and reform of Tanzania’s Arbitration Act, by Amne Suedi

Side-stepping national courts would be a big step backwards for Europe: A reaction to the EC’s public consultation on EU cross-border investment, by Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder & Sarah Brewin

Assessing outcomes in ISDS, by Sebastian Puerta & Tim R. Samples

ITN June 2020

Protecting Against Investor–State Claims Amidst COVID-19: A call to action for governments, by Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Sarah Brewin & Nyaguthii Maina

Valuing Fossil Fuel Assets in an Era of Climate Disruption, by Kyla Tienhaara, Lise Johnson, & Michael Burger

Why Do States Consent to Arbitration in National Investment Laws?, by Tarald Laudal Berge & Taylor St John

The Treaty on Sustainable Investment for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: A model to steer international law toward renewable energy investments and the low-carbon transition, by Sofia de Murard

Morocco’s New Model BIT: Innovative features and policy considerations, by Hamed El-Kady & Yvan Rwananga

Domestic Procedures for the Payment of Damages by States in Investment Arbitration, by Affef Ben Mansour

ITN December 2019

UNCTAD’s 2019 High-level IIA Conference: A new momentum for Phase 2 reform

Business and Human Rights Treaty Negotiation Sees a Light at the End of the Tunnel

What to Expect in the January 2020 Session of UNCITRAL Working Group III on ISDS Reform

ITN October 2019 – Special Edition

Modernizing the Energy Charter Treaty: What about termination?, by Tania Voon

UNCITRAL Working Group III: Promoting alternatives to investor–state arbitration as ISDS reform, by Jane Kelsey

The Revised Draft of a Treaty on Business and Human Rights: Ground-breaking improvements and brighter prospects, by Carlos Lopez

ICSID Rule Amendment: An attempt to remedy some of the concerns regarding ISDS identified by UNCITRAL WG III, by Rafael Ramos Codeço & Henrique Martins Sachetim

ITN September 2019

Judgment C-252 of 2019 of the Constitutional Court of Colombia: Change of precedent on the control of BITs, by Federico Suárez Ricaurte

Ivory Coast’s New Investment Code: Focus on issues related to sustainable development and dispute settlement, by Mouhamed Kebe, Mahamat Atteib & Mouhamoud Sangare

Toward a Code of Conduct for Investment Adjudicators: Can ethical standards salvage ISDS?, by Martin Dietrich Brauch

ITN June 2019

Third-Party Funding and the Objectives of Investment Treaties: Friends or foes?, by Brooke Güven & Lise Johnson

A BIT of Anti-Bribery: How a corruption prohibition in FIPAs can bring a minimum standard of conduct for Canadian investors abroad, by Matthew A. J. Levine

Spain’s Renewable Energy Saga: Lessons for international investment law and sustainable development, by Isabella Reynoso

Investment Facilitation at the WTO: an attempt to bring a controversial issue into an organization in crisis, by Sofía Baliño & Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder

The Kenyan Parliament and Investment Treaty Making, by Bosire Nyamori

Investor Due Diligence and the Energy Charter Treaty, by Yulia Levashova

ITN April 2019

Politically Motivated Conduct in Investment Treaty Arbitration, by Jonathan Bonnitcha and Zoe Williams

Phase 2 of the UNCITRAL ISDS Review: Why “other matters” really matter, by Jane Kelsey, David Schneiderman and Gus Van Harten

Enhancing Environmental Protection in International Investment Law Through the Integration of International Civil Liability Principles, by Alessandra Mistura

Protecting Social Rights Using the Amicus Curiae Procedure in Investment Arbitration: A smokescreen against third parties?, by Maxime Somda

ITN December 2018

Multilateral ISDS Reform Is Desirable: What happened at the UNCITRAL meeting in Vienna and how to prepare for April 2019 in New York, by Martin Dietrich Brauch

Do Developing Countries Really Benefit from Investment Treaties? The impact of international investment law on national governance, by Mavluda Sattorova

Corporate Social Responsibility Clauses in Investment Treaties, by Laurence Dubin

ITN October 2018

A Critical Review of the Debate on Investment Facilitation, by Luciana Ghiotto

Reforming Investment Treaties: Does treaty design matter?, by Tarald Laudal Berge and Wolfgang Alschner

New Egyptian Investment Law: Eyes on sustainability and facilitation, by Moataz M. Hussein

Toward an International Convention on Business and Human Rights, by Carlos Lopez

E-book – International Investment Law and Sustainable Development: Key cases from the 2010s, edited by Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder and Martin Dietrich Brauch

ITN July 2018

The 2018 Draft Dutch Model BIT: A critical assessment, by Bart-Jaap Verbeek and Roeline Knottnerus

The Case Against Third-Party Funding in Investment Arbitration, by Frank J. Garcia

Making the Right to Regulate in Investment Law and Policy Work for Development: Reflections from the South African and Brazilian experiences, by Fabio Morosini

Conflicts between Latin American Countries and Transnational Corporations: The challenges of the region in the face of asymmetrical investment treaties, by Jorge Marchini, Josefina Morales and Gabriela Roffinelli

ITN April 2018

Achmea: The Beginning of the End for ISDS in and with Europe? By Laurens Ankersmit

Withdrawal of Consent to Investor–State Arbitration and Termination of Investment Treaties, by Lise Johnson, Jesse Coleman and Brooke Güven

An interview with Luis Guillermo Vélez – Director-General of Colombia’s National Agency for the Legal Defense of the State

ITN Quarterly December 2017

The Journey of a Binding Treaty on Human Rights: Three Years Out and Where Is It Heading? by Joe Zhang and Mintewab Abebe

Government Regulatory Space in the Shadow of BITs: The Case of Tanzania’s Natural Resource Regulatory Reform, by Magalie Masamba

UNCTAD’s 2017 High-level IIA Conference: Moving Forward on Addressing Older-Generation International Investment Agreements, by James Zhan and Moritz Obst

Review of The Political Economy of the Investment Treaty Regime, by David Gaukrodger

ITN Quarterly September 2017

The 2016 Morocco–Nigeria BIT: An Important Contribution to the Reform of Investment Treaties

A Look into China’s Slowly Increasing Appearance in ISDS Cases

Investment Treaties and the Internal Vetting of Regulatory Proposals: A Case Study from Canada

Can Foreign Investors Be Held Liable for Human Rights Violations? International Human Rights Law and Beyond

ITN Quarterly June 2017

Expansion of the Energy Charter to Africa and Asia: Undoing Reform in International Investment Law?

Another Conflict of Norms: How BEPS and International Taxation Relate to Investment Treaties

Brazil’s Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreements (CFIA) and Recent Developments

Intra-EU Investment Protection: Up the Creek Without a Paddle

The Recent Argentina–Qatar BIT and the Challenges of Investment Negotiations

Sustainability Toolkit for Trade Negotiators: Tapping the Potential of Trade and Investment Agreements for Achieving Environmental Goals

ITN Quarterly March 2017

The Power to Conclude the New Generation of EU FTAs: AG Sharpston in Opinion 2/15

Can Bolivian State-Owned Companies Submit to International Arbitration? Analyzing Bolivia’s Intricate Legal Framework on Foreign Investment

The Settlement of Investment Disputes: A Discussion of Democratic Accountability and the Public Interest

ITN Quarterly December 2016

Only a Brief Pause for Breath: The Judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court on CETA, by Jelena Bäumler

India’s Joint Interpretive Statement for BITs: An Attempt to Slay the Ghosts of the Past, by Sarthak Malhotra

Special and Differential Treatment in International Investment Agreements, by Riham Marii

UNCTAD’s International Investment Agreements Conference 2016: Taking IIA Reform to the Next Level, by James Zhan and Diana Rosert

ITN Quarterly August 2016

UNASUR Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes: Comments on the Draft Constitutive Agreement

Can EU Member States Still Negotiate BITs with Third Countries?

Recasting Rules and Exceptions? On the Relationship Between Regulatory Sovereignty and International Investment Law

ITN Quarterly May 2016

Mappinginvestmenttreaties.com: Uncovering the secrets of the investment treaty universe, by Wolfgang Alschner and Dmitriy Skougarevskiy

The Need for a Southern Observatory on Transnational Investment, by Fredy Trujillo and Silvia Perugachi

An interview with Lauge Poulsen, author of Bounded Rationality and Economic Diplomacy

ITN Quarterly February 2016

TTIP and Climate Change: Low economic benefits, real climate risks

Is ISDS in EU Trade Agreements Legal under EU Law?

State Strategies for the Defence of Domestic Interests in Investor–State Arbitration

ITN Quarterly November 2015

Does the Green Economy Need Investor–State Dispute Settlement?

Conciliation and Arbitration Law: Times of Change in Investment Protection in Bolivia

Safeguarding Sustainable Development: Financing for Development and the International Investment Regime

Negotiations Kick Off on a Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights

ITN Quarterly August 2015

The Brazilian Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments (ACFI): A New Formula for International Investment Agreements?

Farmland Investments and Water Rights in Africa: The Legal Regimes Converging over Land and Water

Working by Design: New Ideas to Empower U.S. and European Workers in TTIP

ITN Quarterly May 2015

PDF – English (1.83 MB) – Français (1.73 MB) – Español (1.79 MB) In this issue: The Merits and Limitations of General Exception Clauses in Contemporary Investment Treaty Practice Rethinking Investment-Related Dispute Settlement Experts at UNCTAD Meeting Give Shape to […]