13-September-2016
English
Many governments have expressed concerns about the uncertainty linked to the perceived inconsistency of treaty interpretation in Investor-State dispute settlement. This working paper looks at how governments can take action to improve the interpretation of investment treaties through consideration of the potential role of State-to-State dispute settlement in this area.
10-February-2016
English
Most investment treaties do not expressly address joint interpretations and thus leave the issue to more general rules. This paper addresses the general legal framework applicable to joint agreements by treaty parties about the interpretation of treaties. It outlines key concepts and distinctions, and considers effects on third parties.
10-December-2015
English
This paper reviews currency-based measures (CBMs) directed at banks in 49 countries between 2005 and 2013. These measures apply a discrimination, such as less favourable treatment, on the basis of the currency of an operation, typically foreign currencies. The new data shows that CBMs have been increasingly used in the post-crisis period, including for macro-prudential purposes.
16-January-2015
English, PDF, 912kb
Investment treaty law reflects a permanent tension between stability and flexibility. Stability nurtures predictability, while flexibility helps legal systems stay in alignment with changing circumstances and evolving needs. This paper establishes an inventory of the mechanisms in investment treaty law that provide flexibility and surveys relevant treaty practice.
14-January-2015
English, PDF, 994kb
Government-controlled investors, including state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds, have greatly expanded their international activities in recent years. This paper describes the existing policy landscape of international investments by government-controlled investors under both national and international frameworks.
10-October-2014
English, PDF, 903kb
This paper analyses investment treaty provisions relating to shareholder claims. It addresses (i) treaty regimes for shareholder recovery and company recovery of damages; (ii) the interaction of reflective loss claims with treaty provisions that seek to limit multiple claims; and (iii) treaty provisions applicable to government objections to shareholder claims for reflective loss.
23-July-2014
English
This paper examines shareholder claims for reflective loss under investment treaties in light of comparative analysis of advanced systems of corporate law; considers the impact of allowing shareholder claims for reflective loss on key characteristics of the business corporation; and explores possible responses by different categories of investors to the availability of shareholder claims for reflective loss under investment treaties.
23-July-2014
English
Investment treaties are often thought to be silent on investors’ responsibilities to host societies and on their contributions to sustainable development. This paper establishes a factual and statistical basis for understanding the relationship between investment treaty law and governments’ ability to advance the sustainable development agenda and promote responsible business conduct.
13-December-2013
English, PDF, 2,081kb
International investment agreements almost universally define their temporal validity and thus set conditions for States’ exit from these treaties. This study presents the results of the survey of language that determines the temporal validity of 2,061 bilateral investment agreements that the 55 economies participating in the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Roundtables have concluded with any other economy.
1-August-2013
English
This study documents the liberalisation of the FDI regime in Korea between 1990 and 2010 and examines how and why it came about. The paper focuses on the lessons can we draw from the Korean experience about how to achieve rapid and sustainable reforms.