The Treaty of Lisbon's grant of exclusive competence to the European Union for foreign direct investment (FDI) matters signals the beginning of a profound shift in the global landscape of FDI regulation as the international investment policies of twenty-seven states begin to be consolidated and...

In its recent treaties with Canada and Vietnam, the European Union has established a new model of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). It entails a reworking of existing structures of investor-state arbitration through, inter alia, the replacement of ad hoc arbitral tribunals with standing,...

The international community’s response to Iran’s nuclear development program highlights the sometimes complex legal relationship between the UN system of collective security and the rights of states to take unilateral countermeasures under the law of state responsibility. It also raises a...

The British Government's nationalization of the shares of Northern Rock plc and Bradford & Bingley plc in 2008 raises important issues about the standard of protection owed to the banks' non-UK investors and the manner in which compensation should be calculated. The United Kingdom is party to...

The authors identify several ways in which an investment facilitation framework for development can be insulated from investor-state dispute settlement provisions in international investment agreements, and suggest specific formulations in this respect.

The doctrinal role of a lawfully taken countermeasure is to serve as a defense (or circumstance precluding wrongfulness) which justifies the reacting State’s suspension of its performance of an international obligation owed to the target State. Countermeasures, however, need not be...

A notable feature of the investment treaty regime as it has developed is the way in which its rules generally apply to all covered ‘investments’ regardless of the sector in which the investment is made or the modality of investment. This one-size-fits-all approach to the application of...