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Structure, Legitimacy, And Nafta's Investment Chapter, Charles H. Brower, Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Brower examines the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He argues that the relevant treaty provisions lack a substantial measure of textual clarity. In addition, he argues that ad hoc tribunals based on the commercial arbitration model have generated incoherent doctrine and are relatively less accountable, transparent, and accessible than permanent tribunals. Furthermore, he argues that the NAFTA Parties and their courts so far appear to place a higher priority on the pursuit of narrow self-interest than on the principled administration of international governance. Collectively, these circumstances help to explain the frequency …

Taking Stock Of Nafta Chapter 11 In Its Tenth Year, Jack J. Coe, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force on January 1, 1994. Its Eleventh Chapter establishes substantive guarantees and an arbitral mechanism by which qualifying investors may seek damages for breach of those guarantees. The much-discussed investor-state arbitration apparatus was first invoked in September 1996, and since then has been resorted to several times against each NAFTA state. Many cases have concluded, while others are nearing completion. Though a mature jurisprudence has by no means emerged, substantive trends have been established and several of Chapter l's distinctive features, strengths, and weaknesses have been illuminated.

NAFTA's investor-state docket has …

The North American Free Trade Agreement: A Market Analysis, Leonard Bierman, Donald R. Fraser, James W. Kolari

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the subject of heated debate in the United States Congress. The central issue of the debate was whether NAFTA would have a positive or negative economic impact on the parties to the treaty. This Article is a direct empirical market analysis that measures the perceived economic impact of NAFTA on the parties to the agreement and other states. The authors use stock market event analysis to study the effect of NAFTA on different sectors of the economy of the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region. In doing so, the …