Public Health In International Investment Law And Arbitration

As a wide variety of state regulations allegedly aimed at protecting public health may interfere with foreign investments, a tension exists between the public health policies of the host state and investment treaty provisions. Under most investment treaties, States have waived their sovereign immunity, and have agreed to give arbitrators a comprehensive jurisdiction over what are essentially regulatory disputes. Some scholars and practitioners have expressed concern regarding the magnitude of decision-making power allocated to investment treaty tribunals. This book contributes to the current understanding of international investment law and arbitration, addressing the fundamental question of whether public health has and/or should have any relevance in contemporary international investment law and policy.

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.

The need for policy coherence between trade and health has never been greater, yet few public health workers are equipped to navigate this complex field. This book aims to fill this gap, providing a focused and readable introduction to the topic. It introduces the principles underpinning trade treaties and examines the implications of trade rules for health services and access to medicines, unhealthy commodities, labour rights and the environment. It explores the trade policy making process, methods for trade and health research, and recommendations for strengthening policy coherence.

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

In recent years, concerns have arisen in investor-state arbitration with regard to the magnitude of the decision-making power allocated to investment treaty tribunals. This book explores whether the use of analogies can improve the functioning of such arbitration, and how such analogies might be drawn.

Is a State free to adopt measures to protect public interest in general, and the public health of its citizens in particular? If so, what are the limits, if any, to such regulatory powers? Are investment treaties compatible with states' obligations to protect public health? Whether or under what condition could investor-state arbitration work as a Governance Mechanism to safeguard public interests? This article addresses these questions by focusing on the clash between the regulatory autonomy of host state over public health issue and international investment governance in international investment law system. As a relative self-contained obligations system, investment treaties specify the most fundamental rights vested to foreign investors and use relative broad terms to protect hardly-to-be-specified ex ante rights, such as Fair and Equitable Treatment and Full Protection and Security. However, even the most fundamental concepts in BIT is far from clear delimitation, such as Investment. Too overwhelming treaty stipulations encompass nearly non-exceptional property rights protection guarantee which may contradict the public policy maneuvers of host state government. Under public health regulation disputes, international tribunal shall strike a dedicated balance between protection of investor's rights in BIT and safeguard of public interest in host state, considering procedural requirements, namely due procedure and substantive requirements, namely necessity doctrine (including scientific basis, severity of regulatory measures and reasonableness). Economic deconstruction of marginal benefit and marginal cost of host state government's measures will provide constructive guidance to determine whether or not host state government has violated proportionate principle. State has the inherent sovereign power to regulate public interest related matter, while with broad treaty terms, compulsory jurisdiction of International tribunal, and relatively well recognition and enforcement of international awards, Investor-state arbitration can be perceived as a governance mechanism of public interest of host state. However, how to coordinate the two governance mechanisms and how to delegate and delimit discretion of international tribunals as a governance mechanism remain inconclusive and call for further elaborations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the debate on reform of the international investment agreement regime to the fore with renewed force. In this important and timely book, top professionals in the field collectively offer an in-depth investigation of the measures that States have taken, or failed to take, to deal with the pandemic’s consequences and whether these actions or inactions can be construed as investment arbitration risks. In an extensive overview of the impact of COVID-19 on States and investors – including perspectives from UNCTAD, the European Union, the United States, Russia, India, South Korea and the African Union – this comprehensive guide on State defences and investor protection mechanisms tackles such aspects of the debate as the following as affected by the pandemic: treatment of investors in times of pandemic and in the post-pandemic world; sufficient contribution to the economic development of the host State; disparities in bargaining power; and use of ‘pandemic power’ to accord preferential treatment. The final part of the book is dedicated to analysing case studies from around the world in the context of the pandemic and investor-State disputes. Understanding the way public health emergencies can shape international investment law is key to building a sustainable, stable investment environment. As the first detailed study of the post-pandemic development of investment law, this matchless collection takes a giant step toward reconciling the interests of foreign investors and sovereign States at various stages of economic development. With practical recommendations for both States and investors, it will be of immeasurable assistance to practitioners, policymakers, and academics in anticipating and dealing not only with COVID-related measures but also with similar future contingencies.

Environmental Interests in Investment Arbitration Challenges and Directions Flavia Marisi Economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection stand at the core of sustainable development, which aims to deliver long-term growth for current and future generations. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can play a key role in sustainable development. Host states’ benefits descending from FDI inflows include tax revenues, technology transfer, specialised training of local human resources, network with satellite activities, better availability of quality products and customer-centric services. These downstream effects jointly stimulate economic growth and social inclusion. This thoroughly researched book explores the relationship between environmental protection – the third component of sustainable development – and FDI. In practice, the intersection between environmental protection and foreign investment not only has generated remarkable success stories such as cross-sectoral green investment but has also in some instances led to severe cases of environmental degradation. Certain foreign investments resulted in open-pit mines leaking harmful substances into the soil, excessive deforestation, improper treatment of water, pollution of groundwater and contamination of mud pits following oil exploitation, leaving the host state with significant environmental damage. Some other cases have witnessed the host state withdrawing or infringing its own environmental policies, which could, in principle, lead to a decrease in the value of the foreign investment as a result of natural resources deterioration. In recent years, an increasing number of investment arbitration cases have seen a clash between the states’ commitments towards their citizens, which include the duty to protect the environment, their health and well-being, and the commitment towards foreign investors to protect their investments. In this book, the author focuses on investor-state cases in which environmental protection measures have been contested and discusses substantive mechanisms in treaty drafting, rules of Customary International Law, and interpretation doctrines, which are aimed at taking environmental concerns into consideration. The topics covered include the following: statistical analysis of investor-state cases where environmental protection measures have been contested; the role of environmental principles in investor-state arbitration; treaty mechanisms addressing environmental concerns; legal tools available under Customary International Law to address environmental interests; the application of the doctrines of proportionality, police powers, and margin of appreciation; and environmental counterclaims as an instrument to claim compensation for environmental damage. The author provides a detailed framework on the normative architecture, offers an extensive analysis of the relevant case law, and proposes concrete solutions to the identified clashes, aimed at refining the balance between environmental and investment protection. With its in-depth analysis and careful documentation, this book aptly captures the inherent fragmentation of international law and undoubtedly represents an invaluable resource for both international law practitioners and scholars. The solution-oriented approach adopted in the book will be welcomed by legal counsel, law firms, investment treaty negotiators, and decision makers at the different stages of investment lawmaking and practice, as well as by international institutions and academics.

This open access book focuses on public actors with a role in the settlement of investment disputes. Traditional studies on actors in international investment law have tended to concentrate on arbitrators, claimant investors and respondent states. Yet this focus on the "principal" players in investment dispute settlement has allowed a number of other seminal actors to be neglected. This book seeks to redress this imbalance by turning the spotlight on the latter. From the investor's home state to domestic courts, from sub-national governments to international organisations, and from political risk insurance agencies to legal defence teams in national ministries, the book critically reviews these overlooked public actors in international investment law.