Umbrella Clauses in Bilateral Investment Treaties: Of Breaches of Contract, Treaty Violations, and the Divide between Developing and Developed Countries in Foreign Investment Disputes

Abstract:     
The article attached looks at the phenomena of umbrella clauses in bilateral investment treaties, and examines how they can affect otherwise independent investment contracts between host States and foreign investors by moving State-investor disputes out of domestic courts and into international arbitral tribunals. In doing so, it demonstrates how the application of the umbrella clause not only illuminates the differences between breaches of contract and treaty violations, but also reveals the long-standing and continuing conflict between the investment interests of developing and developed countries.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 43

Keywords: Investment, BIT, Bilateral Investment Treaties, Umbrella Clause

JEL Classification: F21

Accepted Paper Series