Investment tribunals often profess fidelity to the rules on treaty interpretation contained in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). At first sight, they mention Article 31 and 32 VCLT with reassuring regularity. But first impressions may lead astray. My hypothesis is that many...

We examine the role of arbitrator background for outcomes in investment arbitration. Both the investors and the host states expend a great deal of resources to influence the arbitration outcomes, raising an important question: is an arbitrator‟s decision biased toward his or her appointing...

A growing sociological and empirical literature focus on lawyers as part of the globalization and transnationalization of law. Sociological approaches treat arbitration tribunals as embedded in society, and arbitral awards as the product of a network of actors. Weberian sociology treats...

The UK has made major contributions to the development of investor-state dispute settlement from 1920-2020. This essay shows that the UK contributed in three ways (1) law-making, both before and after the launch of its investment treaty programme in the early 1970s; (2) dispute settlement –...

This article focuses on fragmentation within international investment law. The problem of fragmentation acquires real significance when investor-State tribunals exceed the scope of their jurisdiction, when they reach conflicting outcomes on the merits of similar disputes, or when the relevant...

Commentators increasingly question whether a backlash against the foreign investment regime is underway. This book, the outgrowth of a conference organized by the editors at Harvard Law School on April 19, 2008, aims to uncover the drivers behind the backlash against the current international...