Publications and events
Recent Publications
The EU Approach to International Investment Policy after the Lisbon Treaty
European Commission Directorate-General for Exernal Policies, Policy Department, 2010
This report provides analysis on the challenges and options with respect to the EU’s approach to international investment policy post-Lisbon Treaty. The report argues that the Lisbon treaty’s extension of EU exclusive competence to cover foreign direct investment (FDI) should enable the EU to conclude comprehensive trade and investment agreements, where in the past its coverage of investment has been only very partial. This should in turn strengthen the EU’s ability to shape international investment policy. The greater negotiating leverage gained from negotiating comprehensive trade and investment agreements should also enable the EU to gain improved market access for EU investors in key target markets. Increased EU competence also means the EU will be able to establish uniform provisions for investors throughout the EU, in contrast to the current position in which investors in some member states have better protection in some markets than others. Available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/studies.do?language=EN
IISD Presentation at the European Parliament Hearing on Foreign Direct Investment
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, IISD, November 2010
In this presentation to the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade in Brussels on 9 November 2010, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder surveys trends in the area of investment protection and dispute settlement, and discusses the investment treaty arbitrations facing Europe. Bernasconi-Osterwalder, who manages the IISD Investment Programme, identifies some of the main challenges that have become apparent in the area of investment protection and examines issues that have arisen in relation to the substantive rules contained in investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. Drawing on the experience of countries like the U.S. and Canada, she outlines ways in which some of the main problems could be addressed in the European context.
Available at: http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=1365
Sustainable Development in World Investment Law
Edited by Markus W. Gehring, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, and Andrew Newcombe, Kluwer Law International, November 2010
This book features contributions from a variety of experts on recent developments in investment law negotiations and jurisprudence from a sustainable development law perspective. It offers answers to pertinent questions concerning advancements in investment law, including the negotiation of numerous regional and bilateral agreements as well as the increasing number of disputes resolved in the World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), from different developed and developing country perspectives. It lays out future directions for new treaty negotiations and dispute settlement proceedings. It also focuses on key issues in investment laws which have emerged as priorities in the negotiation of bilateral and regional investment agreements, and have been clarified through recent decisions of the ICSID and other arbitral panel awards.
The Yearbook on International Investment Law & Policy 2009-2010
Karl Sauvant, Oxford University Press, October 2010
The Yearbook on International Investment Law & Policy 2009-2010 monitors current developments in international investment law and policy, focusing on trends in FDI, international investment agreements, and investment disputes. The book also looks at central issues in the contemporary discussions on international investment law and policy. Featuring contributions by leading experts in the field, it is intended to provide timely, authoritative information on FDI that can be used by a wide audience, including practitioners, academics, researchers, and policy makers.
Investment Incentives and the Global Competition for Capital
Kenneth P. Thomas, Palgrave Macmillan, November 2010
The battle of national, state, and local governments to attract investment has been a high priority for decades. For example, U.S. state and local governments give almost US$50 billion in location incentives and over US$70 billion in total subsidies annually. Developing countries often pay even more for investments despite the fact they are less able to afford to do so. Using case studies from around the world, and at all levels of government, Thomas shows that investment incentives are rarely a good policy, especially for countries lacking education and infrastructure. Finally, he analyzes the myriad methods of controlling incentives with an emphasis on the EU’s comprehensive and largely successful state aid rules, illustrated by an extended case study of Ireland.
Events
2011
February
2–4
UNCTAD multi -year expert meeting on investment for development (third session), Geneva, Switzerland
16–18
UNCTAD single-year expert meeting on the contribution of foreign direct investment to the transfer and diffusion of technology and know -how for sustainable development in developing countries, especially least developed countries , Geneva, Switzerland
March
3
APRAG-ICSID Conference “Asia and Investment Arbitration ”, Seoul, Korea, http://icsid.worldbank.org/ICSID/Index.jsp
April
5
Fifth Annual Investment Treaty Arbitration Conference, Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C.
May
6
ITF Public Conference: Is There an Evolving Customary International Law on Investment? London, United Kingdom, http://www.biicl.org/events/view/-/id/561/
June
9-10
Conference on Ten Years of Energy Charter Treaty Arbitration organized by SCC, ICSID and the Energy CharterSecretariat, Stockholm, http://www.chamber.se/?id=33813