International Economic Law

Page 1 of 46

Filter category

Feature post image

Shoehorning Substance into a Procedural Mandate? The Right to Regulate and UNCITRAL Working Group III

This post addresses Draft Provision 12, on ‘Right to Regulate’, in the recent ‘Draft Provisions on Procedural and Cross-Cutting Issues’ that were published by the UNCITRAL Secretariat in late July and will be discussed at UNCITRAL Working Group III’s next session in October 2023 (A/CN.9/WG.III/WP.229 [11]). The Draft Provisions have been ‘prepared for inclusion in existing and future’ International Investment Agreements (IIAs) (A/CN.9/WG.III/WP.231, [3]). While Draft Provision 12(1) contains a very standard right to regulate clause, similar to those found in many newer IIAs, the next two paragraphs are far more novel. These provide: When assessing the alleged breach by a Contracting Party of its obligation under the Agreement [the relevant IIA], the Tribunal shall give a high level of deference that international law accords to Contracting Parties with regard to the development and implementation of domestic policies, the right to regulate in the public interest and the right to adopt, maintain and enforce measures sensitive to the protection of public health, public safety or the environment,…

Read more

Dual Nationals in Investment Treaty Arbitration: An Emerging Field of Inconsistent Decisions

Introduction Nationality is a crucial marker for protection in international investment law. Only investors that qualify as nationals of a contracting party can access investment treaties. Most investment treaties, however, are premised on broad provisions defining eligible nationals. With respect to individuals, these instruments typically define protected investors as physical persons who hold the nationality…

Read more

Sovereign White Knights: Defensive State-Capitalism as a Gate Keeper of (EU) Economic Security?

Geopolitical considerations have been creeping into corporate and international economic laws. Faced with rapidly increasing inbound foreign direct investment by corporations from competing economies, many countries have either strengthened existing, or developed new, investment screening mechanisms. These mechanisms enable host country governments to decide whether to admit foreign investment, and if so, whether conditions should be…

Read more

The G7’s Fear of Economic Coercion through Weaponised Interdependence – Geopolitical Competition Cloaked in International Law?

President Zelensky’s attendance of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima (19 – 21 May 2023) was not the only significant moment of the event. Pundits have zeroed on something else, describing the summit as “a launch party for one phrase in particular: economic coercion” – China’s economic coercion. A launch party it was indeed. The…

Read more

Critical insecurities? The European Union’s trade and investment strategy for a stable supply of minerals for the green transition

Clashing over critical minerals The green transition is creating an exponential need for critical raw materials (“CRMs”), such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, as these are necessary for environmentally-friendly technologies, from wind turbines to electrical vehicles. The European Union (“EU”) is in desperate need of such minerals due to limited reserves at home and long-lasting…

Read more
  • Page 1 of 46
  • Last