The Evolution of Substantive Investment Protections in Recent Trade and Investment Treaties

Abstract

Over the years, the substantive content of international investment agreements (IIAs) has shifted to reflect political change and to respond to lessons learnt in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). With a focus on eight IIAs, selected with a view to geographical representativeness, this think piece explores substantive standards in recent treaty practice. It finds that new IIAs converge to a large extent with respect to their substantive standards. Old generation IIAs will probably remain dominant for some time as they represent the bulk of existing agreements. But there is a clear trend towards displacing them with the conclusion of new generation IIAs.

Keywords: International Investment Law, Substantive Investment Protection Standards, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Intra-Mercosur Investment Protocol, Pacer Plus, CETA, EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement

JEL Classification: F02, F13, F21, F53, K41, K39, K40, K10, K33, K49, K12, K19, K20, K29, H70, E22, H87, F50, F52