Internat Investment Law and Arbitration

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Objectives:

International investment law regulates the entry and operation of foreign investment and is one of the fastest growing fields of public international law. The last decade has seen exponential growth in the formation of investment treaties and the invocation of their unique forms of arbitral dispute settlement against developed and developing states alike. This subject offers a comprehensive analysis of the protections afforded under key investment treaties and their dispute settlement systems.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Be familiar with key bilateral, regional and multilateral investment treaties
• Be able to advise clients on the substantive rights afforded to them under these treaties (including protections against state discrimination and expropriation)
• Understand the nature of investor-state arbitration as a form of dispute resolution at international law
• Be familiar with the specialised forms of institutional arbitration in the field (including the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes) and their similarities and differences with respect to commercial arbitration
• Have a critical understanding of current controversies surrounding the impact of investment treaty disciplines on regulatory autonomy, development strategies and the human rights of citizens in host states.

Syllabus:

Principal topics will include:

• Nature, evolution and context of international investment law
• Overview of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Energy Charter Treaty and parts of the World Trade Organization
• Scope of protection: Definition of ‘investor’ and ‘investment’
• Relative obligations of non-discrimination: Most-favored-nation (MFN) and national treatment
• Obligation to accord foreign investors ‘fair and equitable treatment’
• Expropriation and the quantification of compensation
• Contract claims versus treaty claims: The ‘umbrella’ clause
• Arbitration under the ICSID Convention.

• Take-home examination (100%) (20–23 November)
  
  or
   
• Research paper 10,000 words (100%) (17 December) (topic approved by the subject coordinator)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Objectives:

International investment law regulates the entry and operation of foreign investment and is one of the fastest growing fields of public international law. The last decade has seen exponential growth in the formation of investment treaties and the invocation of their unique forms of arbitral dispute settlement against developed and developing states alike. This subject offers a comprehensive analysis of the protections afforded under key investment treaties and their dispute settlement systems.

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

• Be familiar with key bilateral, regional and multilateral investment treaties
• Be able to advise clients on the substantive rights afforded to them under these treaties (including protections against state discrimination and expropriation)
• Understand the nature of investor-state arbitration as a form of dispute resolution at international law
• Be familiar with the specialised forms of institutional arbitration in the field (including the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes) and their similarities and differences with respect to commercial arbitration
• Have a critical understanding of current controversies surrounding the impact of investment treaty disciplines on regulatory autonomy, development strategies and the human rights of citizens in host states.

Syllabus:

Principal topics will include:

• Nature, evolution and context of international investment law
• Overview of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Energy Charter Treaty and parts of the World Trade Organization
• Scope of protection: Definition of ‘investor’ and ‘investment’
• Relative obligations of non-discrimination: Most-favored-nation (MFN) and national treatment
• Obligation to accord foreign investors ‘fair and equitable treatment’
• Expropriation and the quantification of compensation
• Contract claims versus treaty claims: The ‘umbrella’ clause
• Arbitration under the ICSID Convention.

• Take-home examination (100%) (20–23 November)
  
  or
   
• Research paper 10,000 words (100%) (17 December) (topic approved by the subject coordinator)