Evolution and content of the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes in International Law

This article introduces a brief outline of the inter-State conflict types. The evaluation considers the principle of peaceful disputes’ settlement evolution from antiquity to the present based on the legal analysis of historical and international legal sources. The article looks at the content of this principle and a comparative legal study of peaceful dispute resolution laid down in the UN Charter and other international legal instruments. The authors conclude that the peaceful international disputes settlement is a complex, integrated principle with several interrelated elements and the content incorporated in various international legal instruments. The article highlights the vital role of appropriate freedom of States to choose the remedies of settling their disputes. This right is a corollary to two interrelated international law principles – the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in matters within their domestic jurisdiction.

China’s Stance on Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Evolution, Challenges, and Reform Options

China is one of the most active states in concluding bilateral investment treaties (BITs) globally. Its BITs can be categorized into three generations based on the homogeneity of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions within each generation. The China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and the China–US BIT under negotiation are expected to inaugurate a fourth generation, although China’s stance on ISDS in both treaties remains indeterminate. This article elaborates on the distinctive characteristics of ISDS provisions by mapping three generations of Chinese BITs, presenting the challenges that these ISDS provisions have brought to light in investor-state adjudication as well as in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expounding on China’s policy options in ISDS reform. The on-going intense debate on ISDS reform presents China with an opportunity to shift from its traditional role of a rule-taker to a rule-maker in redesigning the ISDS mechanism. However, China’s current policy and practice do not demonstrate an ambition for such a transformation. Looking forward, it may well be in China’s long-term interest to endorse a Multilateral Investment Court as vigorously advocated by the EU.

Before and After the Eleventh Century AD in the Territory of Sagalassos

This chapter discusses the settlement evolution in the territory of Sagalassos (south-west Turkey) from the start of the Byzantine period until the thirteenth century when Sagalassos was ultimately abandoned and habitation moved to new locations in and around the modern village of Ağlasun. Problems regarding the archaeological recognition characterize the Byzantine material culture of the region. Recent excavations at Sagalassos together with focused ceramic studies and ongoing intensive surveys are changing this and providing insights into a history of habitation that is not uniform within the territory and that is sometimes at odds with processes occurring in Anatolia at large.

The River as an Economic Asset: Settlement and Society in the Xeros Valley in Cyprus

Settled and Sacred Landscapes of Cyprus (SeSaLaC) is a systematic archaeological survey project of the University of Cyprus in the Xeros River valley in the Larnaka district in Cyprus. This article aims to present a first synthesis of the diachronic settlement pattern in the region. After a short introduction on the area and the SeSaLaC project, we attempt to identify and interpret settlement evolution and landscape changes in the region, from early prehistory to Late Antiquity. The contextualisation and evaluation of settlement changes in the Xeros River valley are carried out within a multi-layered framework along the main strands of approach presented in this Land special issue. The presentation and analysis that follows below is a work in progress.