NCCR - Review of International Investment Agreements: Key Issues

Abstract

With the ascendancy of FDI as one of the main factors driving international economic relations in the era of globalization, international investment rulemaking has become to the forefront of public and private concerns facing a patchwork of bilateral agreements (more than 2’300 BITs), regional agreements as well as plurilateral agreements. In this context, the UNCTAD has published 3 volumes dedicated to the key issues regarding the international legal framework on FDI. Whereas the business community as well as the governments are suffering from a fragmented international legal framework on FDI, the UNCTAD publications are of tremendous importance to help the private sector as well as the public sector to understand the current framework and to contemplate a more coherent international framework on FDI. Indeed, the international legal framework for FDI has undergone significant changes in the past two decades. UNCTAD describes the series of national and international developments which radically reversed the attitude of host States concerning FDI. The policy prevailing is now to actively attract FDI by liberalising its entry, by offering strict guarantees for investor protection in order to promote economic development, and by offering incentives for foreign investors. The methods and instruments currently in use are described and the reader will find an accurate picture of the complexity of the present legal situation. Key scholars have contributed to these three publications.

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