Drawing the Right Lessons from ICSID Jurisprudence on the Doctrine of Necessity

Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 44-57, 2010

15 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2011

See all articles by George Forji Amin

George Forji Amin

School of Law - University of Bolton; University of Helsinki - Faculty of Law; School of Law, The University of Manchester

Date Written: February 23, 2010

Abstract

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) have over the years injected an important dynamic into public international law, that is, the replacement of a political remedy (peaceful cooperation amongst nations) by a legal one (settlement of investment disputes). The institution of ICSID and the revision of BITs in line with its rules have opened the way for direct investors’ claims and investor-state arbitration. The obvious implication of a compulsory arbitration provision is that it has made up for many shortcomings of the diplomatic protection mechanism with, “the potential for an individual investor, with or without the approval of its home government, to press a conflict that may ultimately have diplomatic implications and may affect relations between the two countries concerned”. It is however still debated whether such a mechanism guarantees fairness and equity for both investors and host states, or merely advantages one BIT signatory to the detriment of the other. Argentina has had more cases before the ICSID tribunals than any other country. Faced with an economic crisis in 2001–2002, it ran into conflict with foreign investors when it repealed the Convertibility Law on which most of its BITs had been negotiated. Could that action be justified as one taken in times of peril and in dire need, as sanctioned by international law, or was it just an outright breach of Argentina’s own contractual commitments?

Keywords: Bilateral Investment Treaties, BITS, FDI, Investment Arbitration, Necessity Doctrine, ICSID, Argentina Financial Crises

Suggested Citation

Forji Amin, George, Drawing the Right Lessons from ICSID Jurisprudence on the Doctrine of Necessity (February 23, 2010). Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 44-57, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1768266

George Forji Amin (Contact Author)

School of Law - University of Bolton ( email )

Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

University of Helsinki - Faculty of Law ( email )

Porthania
P.O. Box 4
Helsinki, FIN-0001 4
Finland

School of Law, The University of Manchester ( email )

Booth St West
Manchester, N/A M15 6PB
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
180
Abstract Views
955
Rank
301,996
PlumX Metrics