International Investment Law and Sustainable Development: Key cases from the 2010s

In 2011, IISD published International Investment Law and Sustainable Development: Key cases from 2000–2010. The e-book features 17 summaries and analyses of decisions rendered by arbitral tribunals in treaty-based investor–state arbitration cases having sustainable development implications.[1]

IISD is now releasing International Investment Law and Sustainable Development: Key cases from the 2010s.[2] The new e-book, a companion volume to the 2011 publication, carries out the same exercise, now focusing on 10 investment arbitration cases decided in the 2010s. Looking at these cases through a sustainability lens, Stefanie Schacherer illustrates the complex relationship between international investment law and sustainable development.

The 10 cases were selected based on their relevance for a range of issues relating to sustainable development, including environmental protection, socio-environmental impact assessment, renewable energy, taxation, corruption and human rights. The cases also highlight fundamental legal issues and current debates in international investment law, such as the notion of legitimate expectations and the related balancing of public versus private rights, the amount of compensation awarded for actions taken by states that affect the bottom line of investors, and the increasing trend to push for responsible investment by holding foreign investors accountable for their actions in the host state.

Along with the publication of this e-book, IISD is publishing the 27 summaries of both volumes on the ITN website at https://www.iisd.org/itn/ISDS-investment-arbitration-sustainable-development

Through the compilation of analyzed cases, IISD aims at contributing to a broader debate on the reform of international investment law and policy, with the aim of ensuring that foreign investment contributes to sustainable development.


Editors

Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder                                      

Group Director, Economic Law and Policy Program, IISD

Martin Dietrich Brauch

Associate and International Law Adviser, Economic Law and Policy Program, IISD

Editor-in-Chief, Investment Treaty News


Notes

[1] Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. & Johnson, L. (Eds.). (2011, July). International investment law and sustainable development: Key cases from 2000–2010. Geneva: IISD. Retrieved from https://www.iisd.org/library/international-investment-law-and-sustainable-development-key-cases-2000-2010

[2] Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. & Brauch, M. D. (Eds.). (2018, October). International investment law and sustainable development: Key cases from the 2010s. Geneva: IISD. Retrieved from https://www.iisd.org/library/international-investment-law-and-sustainable-development-key-cases-2010s