Research Series on New Trends in and Development Impacts of International Investment Law

Claims made and decisions issued in treaty-based investor-state arbitrations have several important implications for sustainable development. They can, for instance, impact government policies and practices regarding approval of environmental and other development permits; renegotiations of investor-state contracts; changes to legal and fiscal frameworks impacting performance of investor-state contracts; and use of performance requirements and other measures aimed at leveraging investment for long-term sustainable development. An ongoing stream of CCSI’s work is to follow these developments and produce papers discussing these issues and highlighting their implications for environmental, social and economic policy.

Research output includes:

A paper examining how investment treaties limit governments’ flexibility to amend their laws and regulations in ways that impact investor-state contracts.

A working paper looking at the implications of investment treaties for investments in infrastructure and other projects involving long-term investor-state contracts.

A briefing note exposing the US’s vulnerability to future claims, litigation costs and potential liability of investor-state arbitration.

Ongoing research focuses on analyzing the restrictions IIAs can impose on the use of certain performance requirements; the standard of liability for composite acts; definition of “actionable measures”; strategies for incorporating robust notions of “due diligence” into arbitral jurisprudence; and permissible limits on prosecutorial discretion.