The Interpretation Of Investment Treaties

Within the context of an exponential proliferation of investment treaties with virtually uniform language and structure, The Interpretation of Investment Treaties by Trinh Hai Yen reveals the neglect or misapplication of international rules on treaty interpretation by tribunals in arbitral cases. Such practice has raised the question of the legitimacy of the interpretative process and the engendered inconsistent interpretations of investment treaties. The book proposes three interpretative approaches aimed at ensuring that adjudicators find legitimate meaning in the challenging generality and vagueness of investment treaty language. It also provides a comprehensive analysis of legislative solutions for states through a case study of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement, as well as a comparative analysis of modern and traditional investment treaties.

The rise of international investment arbitration has resulted in the emergence of a number of intriguing legal and political challenges. One of those is the question of whether or not arbitral awards may constitute investments pursuant to existing investment treaties. In approaching the problem, it is the interconnection between theory and practice that delivers solutions. This book presents the first detailed analysis of the existing tribunals’ approaches to date. In examining the principles of treaty interpretation, their application in arbitral practice, shortcomings and their ramifications and possible routes to improvement, the book addresses the following questions: - What is the foundation of interpretation in public international law and when is it adequately carried out? - Can arbitral awards constitute investments, offering relief from frustrated enforcement attempts? - Is there a trend of convergence of commercial and investment arbitration? - Do respective interpretative outcomes stem from adequate interpretation? - What are the ramifications, if interpretation is not fully adequate? - What are the feasible routes to greater interpretive discipline? The book is mindful of the underlying public international law principles, such as state sovereignty and the increasing legal and political dynamics of international investment law. This is the first in-depth treatise on arbitral awards’ qualification as investments within international investment law. Its detailed analysis of the interpretive approaches, their foundation and consequences will, from a theoretical and practical point of view, prove of great value to international tribunals, counsel and sovereign entities. Maximilian Clasmeier has gained international arbitration experience in the dispute resolution practices of international law firms in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Singapore and worked for the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C.

Bilateral Investment Treaties: History, Policy, and Interpretation organizes, summarizes and comments upon the arbitral awards interpreting and applying BIT provisions. Policymakers and practitioners will find a thorough introduction to the operation of the BITs, including the principal arguments and case authorities on both sides of the major issues in international investment law. The book is intended to be a single-volume reference covering every important development in the 50 years of BIT programs worldwide, from 1959 until 2009. Author Kenneth Vandevelde argues that the primary purpose of the BITs is to promote the application of the rule of law to foreign investment, while a secondary purpose is to create a liberal investment regime. He further argues that BITs are based on six core principles: reasonableness, security, nondiscrimination, access, transparency and due process. The book explains each of these principles and analyzes the major BIT provisions based on them. Vandevelde addresses the host of complex questions that BITs engender: Do bilateral investment treaties attract foreign investment or otherwise contribute to economic development? Do BITs limit host state regulatory discretion too much? Why should countries continue to conclude BITs? What is meant by BIT guarantees of "fair and equitable treatment" and "full protection and security"? What is the scope of the BIT provision for most-favored-nation treatment? The book's expert analysis of these questions makes it useful to policy makers in the area of international economic relations, attorneys representing multinational companies, and anyone interested in the process of economic globalization.

In Contractual Renegotiations and International Investment Arbitration, Aikaterini Florou explores the complex phenomenon of the renegotiation of investor-state contracts. The author reconstructs the relationship between those contracts and the overarching investment treaties using an original interpretative methodology based on transaction cost economics and relational contract theory.

"As the book clearly explains, there are situations in which questions of contract law need to be examined by investment tribunals - mainly as preliminary or incidental questions, to determine issues such as contract liability or breach of contract, that in turn are assumed as a basis for the issues of investment law in dispute"--

This book outlines the principles behind the international law of foreign investment. The main focus is on the law governed by bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. It traces the purpose, context, and evolution of the clauses and provisions characteristic of contemporary investment treaties, and analyses the case law, interpreting the issues raised by standard clauses. Particular consideration is given to broad treaty-rules whose understanding in practice has mainly been shaped by their interpretation and application by international tribunals. In addition, the book introduces the dispute settlement mechanisms for enforcing investment law, outlining the operation of Investor-State arbitration. Combining a systematic analytical study of the texts and principles underlying investment law with a jurisprudential analysis of the case law arising in international tribunals, this book offers an ideal introduction to the principles of international investment law and arbitration, for students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

This book offers a systematic study of the interpretation of investment-related treaties – primarily bilateral investment treaties, the Energy Charter Treaty, Chapter XI NAFTA as well as relevant parts of Free Trade Agreements. The importance of interpretation in international law cannot be overstated and, indeed, most treaty claims adjudicated before investment arbitral tribunals have raised and continue to raise crucial and often complex issues of interpretation. The interpretation of investment treaties is governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). The disputes relating to these treaties, however, are rather peculiar as they place multinational companies (or natural person) in opposition to sovereign governments. Fundamental questions dealt with in the study include: Are investment treaties a special category of treaty for the purpose of interpretation? How have the rules on interpretation contained in the VCLT been applied in investment disputes? What are the main problems encountered in investment-related disputes? To what extent are the VCLT rules suited to the interpretation of investment treaties? Have tribunals developed new techniques concerning treaty interpretation? Are these techniques consistent with the VCLT? How can problems relating to interpretation be solved or minimised? How creative have arbitral tribunals been in interpreting investment treaties? Are States capable of keeping effective control over interpretation?

Investment treaties are some of the most controversial but least understood instruments of global economic governance. Public interest in international investment arbitration is growing and some developed and developing countries are beginning to revisit their investment treaty policies. The Political Economy of the Investment Treaty Regime synthesises and advances the growing literature on this subject by integrating legal, economic, and political perspectives. Based on an analysis of the substantive and procedural rights conferred by investment treaties, it asks four basic questions. What are the costs and benefits of investment treaties for investors, states, and other stakeholders? Why did developed and developing countries sign the treaties? Why should private arbitrators be allowed to review public regulations passed by states? And what is the relationship between the investment treaty regime and the broader regime complex that governs international investment? Through a concise, but comprehensive, analysis, this book fills in some of the many "blind spots" of academics from different disciplines, and is the first port of call for lawyers, investors, policy-makers, and stakeholders trying to make sense of these critical instruments governing investor-state relations.

Driven by public opinion in host states, contracting parties to investment agreements are pursuing many avenues in order to curb a system that is being perceived - correctly or not - as having run out of control. Reassertion of Control over the Investment Treaty Regime is the first book of its kind to examine the many issues of procedure, substantive law, and policy which arise from this trend. From procedural aspects such as frivolous claims mechanisms, the establishment of appeals mechanism or state-state arbitration, to substantive issues such as joint interpretations, treaty termination or detailed definitions of standards of protection, the book identifies and discusses the main means by which states do or may reassert their control over the interpretation and application of investment treaties. Each chapter tackles one of these avenues and evaluates its potential to serve as an instrument in states' reassertion of control.

Overview of international investment treaties -- Main features of international investment treaties -- Ordinary meaning of the terms of the treaty -- Context -- Object(s) and purpose(s) -- Subsequent agreements and subsequent practice -- Other rules of international law -- Special meaning -- Supplementary means -- Plurilingual treaties -- Interpretative value of arbitral decisions -- Interpretative value of scholarly writings -- The role of states in the interpretation of investment treaties