In November 2014, CCSI convened a one-day roundtable focused on lessons learned from good governance initiatives for extractive industry investments and large land-based agricultural investments. The roundtable brought together a range of stakeholders working on extractive industry investments and/or land-based forestry and agricultural investments, including representatives from civil society, government, academia, and the private sector…. read more

CCSI, the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, and the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute have published an outcome document of a one-day roundtable focused on the opportunities and challenges presented by human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of large-scale foreign investments. The document aims to support HRIA practitioners, company officials, civil society representatives, and other stakeholders focused on human rights and foreign investment in further reflection on the objectives and methods of HRIAs.

This paper describes the background of the Mauritius Convention on Transparency, its specific articles, and the mechanism through which it can accomplish such broad reform.

Many critiques of investment treaties relate to concerns that tribunals’ interpretations of these agreements depart from states’ understandings of the texts, and do so in unpredictable ways leading to expensive litigation and unforeseen liability. States, however, can take steps to make their intentions regarding the texts clearer, and reduce the risk of uncertain outcomes. This policy… read more

Governments are increasingly turning to the private sector to provide the capital, resources and/or know-how necessary for development and operation of infrastructure. In some cases, the involvement by the private sector will trigger coverage by an international investment treaty that overlies, and can override, the domestic law and contract that would otherwise be applicable to… read more

Given their collective size – approximately $3.5 trillion in assets as of end-2013 and growing – and concerns about the motivations of their government owners, much has been written on natural resource funds (NRFs), their investments and global influence. However their impacts on governance and public financial accountability at home have received far less attention…. read more

The initial phase of the Leveraging Mining-Related Infrastructure Investments for Development project consisted of a worldwide survey of case studies on rail, port and power infrastructure. A first working paper delivers the findings for mineral railways and ports, a second working paper on power infrastructure and a third working paper on water infrastructure. A final working paper on internet and telecommunications will be published shortly.

CCSI has released a Framework to Approach Shared-Use of Mining Related Infrastructure and the associated detailed case studies from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mozambique.

The Report on Leveraging Paraguay’s Hydropower for Sustainable Economic Development outlines the current challenges faced by the electricity sector and recommends how these could be addressed; provides suggestions for how Paraguay could use its excess electricity to diversify its economy and reduce its fossil fuel dependency; and analyzes past revenue streams from electricity exports, suggests ways to maximizing future export revenues and provides management system tools that could be considered to allocate these revenues efficiently in the future.

This paper discusses the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration, which were adopted in August of 2013 and went into effect on April 1, 2014. It draws on negotiating history to elaborate on the content of and purpose of each of the Rules’ provisions, and identifies options for and barriers to applying these Rules… read more