Dispute Settlement in Investment Treaties. Private Courts of Arbitration and their Alternatives

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,6, http://www.uni-jena.de/, language: English, abstract: In the era of Globalisation international investment flows are large. Even small and medium sized companies are active in foreign countries and economies are increasingly interdependent. Despite this globalisation process there is no unified legal framework concerning international investments and the disputes which may arise from them. In this perspective global governance is lacking behind globalisation. International investment is one of the key drivers of economic development. Investors demand legal security, also in countries where domestic governance is weak in order to minimise the non-commercial risks. International Investment Agreements (IIA) between two or more countries serve as primary legal basis to govern and protect international investments and to settle disputes between investors and states. The framework of thousands of IIAs and within it the system of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is fragmented and increasingly subject to harsh critique of providing inconsistent arbitration awards and lacking legitimacy in general. This paper addresses the development of ISDS provisions in investment agreements and how the current system could be reformed. Chapter two provides a historical overview of investment treaty practice, the roots of the current system and the development of private courts of arbitration. Main ISDS institutions and their rules will be introduced. The following section will point out the arguments in favour and opposing ISDS. Critique will be made visible on examples of prominent cases as well as on overall findings from treaty analysis. The final chapter deals with possibilities to reform, amend or even replace today's ISDS regime. It will address recent megaregional agreements such like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and their possible roles in shaping future rules which will govern international investment flows.