Investment treaties are said to improve the rule of law in the states which enter into them. Fearing claims, governments will internalise international investment obligations into their decision-making processes, resulting in positive spill-over effects on the rule of law. Such arguments have never been backed by empirical research. This book presents an analytical framework for thinking about the internalisation of international commitments in governmental decision making that takes account of the complexities of governance. In so doing, it provides a typology of processes whereby international treaty obligations may be internalised by governments and identifies factors which may affect whether and to what extent international commitments are internalised in governmental decision making. This framework serves as the background for the main body of the book in which empirical case studies address whether and how a select group of governments in Asia internalise international investment treaty obligations in their decision-making.

Traditionally, international investment law was conceptualised as a set of norms aiming to ensure good governance for foreign investors, in exchange for their capital and know-how. However, the more recent narratives postulate that investment treaties and investor–state arbitration can lead to better governance not just for foreign investors but also for host state communities. Investment treaty law can arguably foster good governance by holding host governments liable for a failure to ensure transparency, stability, predictability and consistency in their dealings with foreign investors. The recent proliferation of such narratives in investment treaty practice, arbitral awards and academic literature raises questions as to their juridical, conceptual and empirical underpinnings. What has propelled good governance from a set of normative ideals to enforceable treaty standards? Does international investment law possess the necessary characteristics to inspire changes at the national level? How do host states respond to investment treaty law? The overarching objective of this monograph is to unpack existing assumptions concerning the effects of international investment law on host states. By combining doctrinal, empirical, comparative analysis and unveiling the emerging 'nationally felt' responses to international investment norms, the book aims to facilitate a more informed understanding of the present contours and the nature of the interplay between international investment norms and national realities.

This text analyses the conventional and customary framework of the fair and equitable treatment clauses commonly found in bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and charts how these clauses have become norms of customary international law.

Transnational investment involves a variety of actors (States, public and private legal entities, and natural persons) whose relationships are governed by rules and legal instruments belonging to different legal systems. This book provides a systematic study of the sources of rights and obligations in the field of transnational investment, and their coordination and interaction. It focuses primarily on the network of over 3,000 Bilateral Investment Treaties, international investment contracts, customary international law, the main multilateral treaties, national legislation, international case law and general principles of law. The book, firmly based on State practice, arbitral awards and national decisions, is indispensable to fully appraise the nature and content of the claims of private investors as well as to identify the law applicable in investment arbitration.

This book charts the origins and development of investment protection provisions in foreign investment treaties. Federico Ortino argues that these provisions revolve around three key concepts: legal stability, investment's value, and reasonableness.

This thoughtfully edited volume brings together leading scholars in the field to explore the relationship between the substantive standards of treatment contained in international investment agreements and the rule of law, which is developing into one of the key principles which both supporters and critics use to evaluate the investment treaty regime. Investment Protection Standards and the Rule of Law explores two perspectives. Firstly, it examines to what extent the substantive standards of treatment can be understood as expressions of the rule of law. Secondly, it addresses the rule-of-law problems, or rule-of-law lacunae, that exist in, or are created by, the application of these standards. The subject matter is advanced by combining doctrinal analysis of the core substantive treatment standards, as well as normative assessment of those standards from the perspective of the rule of law. This book also offers a critical discussion of the potential the rule of law has as a guidepost for structuring international investment relations, as well as its blind spots.