The Role of Soft Law Corporate Responsibilities in Defining Investor Obligations in International Investment Agreements

Soft Law ◽

Este artículo estudia las relaciones entre DH, soft law e instrumentos de Inversión extranjera, así como entre DH y arbitrajes de inversión. El artículo comprende dos escenarios. Bajo el primero, abordo el impacto sobre las ETN de la incorporación del soft law en los AII. Bajo el segundo, el artículo refleja que el recurso indirecto por parte de los estados y el inversor a un lenguaje de los DH en los arbitrajes de inversión, puede tener un doble propósito: por un lado, empodera a los inversores extranjeros haciendo más visible su situación de debilidad frente al estado. Del otro, la remisión hecha por los estados propone un cambio en la lógica de los arbitrajes de inversión: el carácter proteccionista de los TBIs se ve cuestionado por la protección a intereses públicos protegidos por los estados, como los derechos de las minorías.

Constitutionality of the Colombia-France Bilateral Investment Treaty

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.1017/ajil.2020.37 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 114 (3) ◽

pp. 471-478

Author(s):

Rafael Tamayo-Álvarez

Keyword(s):

Constitutional Court ◽

Investment Treaty ◽

Adverse Impacts ◽

The Government ◽

Benefits And Costs ◽

Investment Agreements ◽

Practical Implications

In a judgment issued on June 6, 2019 (Judgment), the Colombian Constitutional Court (Court) examined the constitutionality of the Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between Colombia and France (Agreement). The Court upheld the constitutionality of the Agreement on the condition that the government adopt a joint interpretative statement with France to clarify some of its provisions and prevent interpretations contrary to the Colombian constitutional order. In doing so, the Court articulated a standard of review that takes into account the benefits and costs of international investment agreements (IIAs), the application of which entailed an insightful examination of the Agreement in light of the decisions of investment tribunals. The judgment raises significant issues of public international law, including the practical implications of conditioning ratification of the Agreement on adoption of a joint interpretative statement and the role of such statements in the interpretation of IIAs. Furthermore, the judgment makes important contributions to the ongoing process of reform of the investment treaty regime and the strategies adopted by states to counter the adverse impacts of IIAs on regulatory autonomy.

The Treatment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in International Investment Law

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198795650.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joachim Karl

Keyword(s):

Great Majority ◽

Negative Effects ◽

International Investment Law ◽

Internationalization Strategies ◽

Investment Law ◽

Almost All ◽

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of almost all economies, employing the great majority of the workforce, and making the biggest contribution to GDP. To some extent, they are also active as outward foreign investors or are linked to inward foreign investment through supply chains. This chapter analyses the role of international investment law for the internationalization strategies of SMEs. It explores to what extent international investment agreements specifically promote, facilitate, and protect investments involving SMEs, referring to concrete treaty examples. It also examines the risk of potential negative effects of certain IIA provisions on domestic SMEs. On the basis of this analysis, the chapter makes a number of suggestions regarding how international investment law could further improve the situation of SMEs.

The Role of International Human Rights Law in Re-Shaping Investor-State Arbitration

International Journal of Legal Information ◽

10.1017/jli.2017.6 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 34-41

Author(s):

Susan L. Karamanian

Keyword(s):

Foreign Investment ◽

International Standards ◽

International Human Rights Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

New Process ◽

State Consent ◽

Over the past few decades, a new process has dominated how States treat foreign investment and the consequences to States for breaching international standards. The system's key feature, the means for settling a foreign investor's dispute with a State that hosts the investment, lacks traditional elements of State judicial systems. Instead, it is a creature of State consent as reflected in international investment agreements (IIAs). In IIAs, States promise to treat foreign investment and the investors in a certain, fundamentally fair, way. Many IIAs authorize foreign investors and States to select private arbitrators to resolve claims that host States breached their promises under the IIA. The arbitrators, in turn, are empowered to issue arbitral awards.

Taxation, International Cooperation and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda - United Nations University Series on Regionalism ◽

Foreign Investors vs. National Tax Measures: Assessing the Role of International Investment Agreements

10.1007/978-3-030-64857-2_8 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 149-169

Author(s):

Julien Chaisse ◽

Jamieson Kirkwood

Keyword(s):

Foreign Investors ◽

Key Characteristics ◽

Recent Trends ◽

National Tax ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact ◽

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the impact of the international law of foreign investment on tax issues with a view to assessing the interactions between the two regimes and identifying potential signs of convergence. In particular, this chapter focuses on the operation of International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and assesses the role of IIAs from the perspective of foreign investors vis-à-vis National Tax Measures (NTMs). Part I of this chapter provides an understanding of the convergence between investment law and tax issues. This aids in an understanding of the key characteristics of IIAs (such as the definition of investment and the use of specific tax exceptions) and the relationship between currently existing IIAs and tax disputes. Part II analyzes, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the recent trends of tax disputes in investment arbitration. Part III assesses how tax can be seen as the last barrier to cross border investment. Part IV concludes.