Extract
The relationship between bilateral investment treaty arbitration and the Wider Corpus of International Law: the ICSID approach.
I INTRODUCTION II BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES III INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT TREATY ARBITRATION--THE ICSID IV APPLICABLE LAW UNDER THE ICSID CONVENTION Article 42(1), First Sentence Explicit or Implicit Choice Can International Law be Excluded by a Choice of Law? Article 42(1), Second Sentence V ICSID JURISPRUDENCE ON APPLICABLE LAW The Traditional Role of International Law in ICSID Arbitration International Law in BIT Arbitration ICSID Authority No Consideration of International Law Treaty Interpretation and Investment Norms Consideration of International Law Apart from Investment Law VI THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE BIT REGIME TO THE WIDER CORPUS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Lessons from ICSID Authority Conflict of International Laws--The Experience of the WTO VII CONCLUSION ABSTRACT
This article explores how bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the corresponding system of BIT arbitration are situated within the framework of public international law, and how conflicts between investment treaty obligations and other international law obligations should be resolved. BITs are public law because they limit state conduct. However, BITs also create private obligations between states and foreign investors because any breach of a BIT gives rise to a cause of action by the foreign investor against the host-state. As a result, BITs straddle the divide between public and private law. To demonstrate the tension between private and public rights embodied in BITs, this article discusses the system of BIT arbitration administered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). This article undertakes a comprehensive analysis of all merits awards handed down by ICSID tribunals in BIT arbitrations in order to obtain a complete understanding of the extent to which tribunals have considered international law apart from investment law in determining state liability under BITs. This analysis provides the necessary foundation to consider how the ICSID system relates to the wider corpus of international law and how the public and private rights embodied in BITs have been interpreted and any conflicts resolved. RESUME Cet article explore comment les traites bilateraux d'investissement (TBI) et le systeme correspondant a l'arbitrage du TBI sont situes dans le cadre du droit public international, et comment les con flits entre les engagements de traite d'investissement et d'autres engagements de droit international devraient etre resolus. Le TBI est loi publique parce qu'ils limitent la conduite d'etat. Cependant, le TBI cree egalement des engagements prives entre les etats et les investisseurs etrangers, parce que n 'importe quelle infraction au TBI provoque une cause d'action par l'investisseur etranger contre I'hote de-etat. En consequence, le TBI enjambe la division entre la loi publique et privee. Pour demontrer la tension entre les secteurs privies et publiques incorporees au TBI, cet article discute du systeme de l'arbitrage du TBI administre par la Convention internationale pour le reglement des differends relatifs aux investissements (CIRDI). Cet article entreprend une analyse complete de toutes les merites remises par les tribunaux du CIRDI dans les arbitrations du TBI afin d'obtenir une comprehension complete de l'etendue auquel les tribunaux ont considere le droit international independamment de la loi d'investissement en determinant la responsabilite d'etat sous le TBI. Cette analyse fournit la base necessaire pour considerer comment le systeme du CIRDI se rapporte au corpus plus' large du droit international et comment le public et les droits prives incorpores dans le TBI a ete interprete pour les conflits resolus. I INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is to explore how bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the corresponding system of BIT arbitration are situated within the framework of public international law, and how conflicts between investment treaty obligations and other international law obligations should be resolved. Investment treaties, including BITs, form part of the corpus of public international law because they are international treaties that bind states and create public international law. Because BITs contain substantially similar obligations, arbitral decisions handed down in one BIT dispute ultimately affect the obligations owed by other signatory states. BITs are public law because they limit state conduct. However, BITs also create private obligations between states and individuals within their territory (for example foreign investors). The obligations owed by host-states to investors are private in nature because any breach of a BIT gives rise to a cause of action by the individual investor against the host-state. As a result, BITs straddle the divide between public and private law. The tension between the public and private obligations embodied in BITs is central to this discussion. This tension means that any conflict between a host-state's BIT o...See the full content of this document
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