When May Foreign Investors Lose the Protection of Investment Treaties Due to Misconduct?
80 Pages Posted: 8 May 2014 Last revised: 3 Jul 2014
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
Investment treaties focus on the protection of the foreign investor, but are not generally concerned with the obligations of said investor towards the host State. There is concern that sometimes the foreign investor is not a victim, but rather the one misbehaving.
This paper aims to answer the question: under what circumstances may foreign investors lose the protection of investment treaties due to misconduct, focusing on the analysis of arbitral case law in relation to two topics in particular: (i) the breach of host State legislation and (ii) the failure to contribute to the economic development of the host State. The general rule is that the foreign investor is protected by the investment treaty. This paper is based on exceptions to that rule.
Keywords: investment treaty, breach of host State legislation, contribution to the economic development of the host State, loss of treaty protection
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