Law Commons^™

State Attribution: Whether State Ownership Of A Private Entity Is Important In Determining If The Actions Of That Entity Are Attributable To The State, Alejandro Solano Meardi

Arbitration Brief

No abstract provided.

Conflating Politics And Development? Examining Investment Treaty Arbitration Outcomes, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

International dispute settlement is an area of ongoing evaluation and tension within the international political economy. As states continue their negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the efficacy of international arbitration as a method of dispute settlement remains controversial. Whereas some sing its praises as a method of protecting private property interests against improper government interference, others decry investment treaty arbitration (ITA) as biased against states. The literature has thus far not disentangled how politics and development contribute to investment dispute outcomes. In an effort to control for the effect of internal …

Development And Outcomes Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The legitimacy of investment treaty arbitration is a matter of heated debate. Asserting that arbitration is unfairly tilted toward the developed world, some countries have withdrawn from World Bank dispute resolution bodies or are taking steps to eliminate arbitration. In order to assess whether investment arbitration is the equivalent of tossing a two-headed coin to resolve investment disputes, this article explores the role of development status in arbitration outcome. It first presents descriptive, quantitative research about the developmental background of the presiding arbitrators who exert particular control over the arbitration process. The article then assesses how (1) the development status …

Challenges Facing Investment Disputes: Reconsidering Dispute Resolution In International Investment Agreements, Susan Franck, Karl P. Sauvant, Michael Chiswick-Patterson, Rainer Geiger, José E. Alvarez, M. Sornarajah, Patrick Juillard, Jeswald W. Salacuse, Giorgio Sacerdoti, Anna Joubin-Bret, Hugo Perezcano Díaz, Michael K. Tracton, Christoph Schreuer, Howard Mann, Katia Yannaca-Small, Barton Legum, Jan Paulsson, Asif H. Qureshi, Shandana Gulzar Khan, Christopher Brummer, Brian J. Rapier

Contributions to Books

This volume brings together significant contributions from leading voices in academia, the legal profession and government on the increasingly important topic of international investment and the legal system in which it operates. With the burgeoning size of international capital flows matched only by an explosion in international agreements intending to regulate the field, there is increasing potential for incoherence amongst and between treaties and arbitral decisions.

Appeals Mechanism in International Investment Disputes compiles, compares and contrasts the analysis and arguments of the leading scholars, practitioners and government officials on the future of the international investment law regime. Its special emphasis …

Challenges Facing Investment Disputes: Reconsidering Dispute Resolution In International Investment Agreements, Susan Franck

Contributions to Books

International investment and international investment agreements have experienced a particular level of growth in the past few decades. With that growth and the granting of affirmative dispute resolution rights to foreign investors, international investment conflict has become increasingly highlighted; and one particular methodology - namely investment treaty arbitration - has become particularly visible. Reliance on this single option for resolving conflict has a unique set of systemic implications. This chapter therefore takes a more systemic look at investment treaty conflict and, in an effort to provide an appropriate historical and doctrinal framework, approaches to dispute resolution broadly. It asks for …

Empirically Evaluating Claims About Investment Treaty Arbitration, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

With the blossoming of empirical legal scholarship, there is an increased appreciation for the insights it offers issues of international importance. One area that can benefit from such inquiry is the resolution of disputes from investment treaties, which affects international relations, implicates international legality of domestic government conduct, and puts millions of taxpayer dollars at risk. While suggesting there has been a "litigation explosion", commentators make untested assertions about investment treaty disputes. Little empirical work transparently explores this area, however. As the first research that explains its methodology and results, this article is a modest attempt to evaluate claims about …

Integrating Investment Treaty Conflict And Dispute Systems Design, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

With the debate on the renewal of the Trade Promotion Authority Act, the proper terms of investment treaties - including dispute resolution provisions - have become an issue of public scrutiny. In a so-called litigation explosion, investors resolve disputes against host governments through international arbitration mechanisms in investment treaties; and there is little evidence of reliance on other processes like mediation. This escalation has lead to a teething period where parties and non-parties have expressed divergent views as to the efficacy, efficiency and fairness of the dispute resolution process. With billions of dollars and sovereignty at stake, the dispute resolution …

Empiricism And International Law: Insights For Investment Treaty Dispute Resolution, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

While scholars in the United States increasingly focus on the empirical dimension of legal scholarship, there have been challenges in using empiricism to explore international legal issues. Rather than relying on logic or instinct alone, empirical methodologies can provide scholars with tools to gain new facts, see existing ideas through a different lens, and engage in a more nuanced analysis of international law phenomena. There appears to be a natural synergy between empiricism and international investment treaty dispute resolution. With calls for trade time outs by U.S. presidential candidates, there is interest in how investment treaties function, whether they achieve …

Foreign Direct Investment, Investment Treaty Arbitration, And The Rule Of Law, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In the last decade, there has been a surge in the number of multi-lateral and bilateral investment treaties governments have signed; meanwhile there have been dramatic increases in the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI); and, more recently, the number of claims brought under investment treaties has spiked. This Article examines the relationship amongst these factors and is the first to review the emerging empirical economic literature investigating whether investment treaties achieve their goal of promoting FDI. The Article then specifically evaluates the impact that the procedural right to arbitrate investment claims plays in the process of promoting FDI and …