This book presents the reflections of a group of researchers interested in assessing whether the law governing the promotion and protection of foreign investment reflects sound public policy. Whether it is the lack of "checks and balances" on investor rights or more broadly the lack of balance between public rights and private interests, the time is ripe for an in-depth discussions of current challenges facing the international investment law regime.

Through a survey of the evolution in IIA treaty-making and an evaluation from different perspectives, the authors take stock of developments in international investment law and analyze potential solutions to some of the criticisms that plague IIAs. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, with expert analysis from legal, political and economic scholars. The first part of the book traces the evolution of IIA treaty-making whilst the other three parts are organised around the concepts of efficiency, legitimacy and sustainability. Each contributor analyzes one or more issues related to substance, treaty negotiation, or dispute resolution, with the ultimate aim of improving IIA treaty-making in these respects.

Improving International Investment Agreements will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of International Investment Law, International Trade Law, Business and Economics.

Contents

Introduction Céline Lévesque and Armand de Mestral Part 1: IIA Treaty-making: evolution and evaluation 1. Developments in IIA treaty-making, Andrew Newcombe 2. The evolution of IIA practice in Canada and the United States, Céline Lévesque and Andrew Newcombe 3. The evolving role of the European Union in IIA treaty-making, Armand de Mestral 4. The evolution of Chinese approaches to IIAs, Chunbao Liu 5. A quantitative perspective on trends in IIA rules, Mark S. Manger 6. The costs and benefits of IIAs to developing countries: an economic perspective Amrita Ray Chaudhuri an Benchekroun Part 2: Efficiency 7. Investment provisions in regional trade agreements: a more efficient solution? Armand de Mestral and Alireza Falsafi 8. Increasing use of alternative dispute resolution in IIAs, Céline Lévesque 9. Is it necessary to avoid substantive and procedural overlaps with other agreements in IIAs? Andreas R. Ziegler Part 3: Legitimacy 10. Corporate investors’ international legal personality and their accountability for human rights violations under IIAs Patrick Dumberry 11. Investor misconduct Andrew Newcombe 12. Balancing IIA arbitration through the use of counterclaims Helene Bubrowski 13. Issues of corporate nationality in investment arbitration, Jean-François Hébert 14. Enhancing the legitimacy of international investment law by establishing an appellate mechanism Debra P. Steger Part 4: Sustainability15. The use of general exceptions in IIAs: increasing legitimacy or uncertainty? Andrew Newcombe 16. Sustainable development and IIAs: from ...