International Investment Law

The subject covers the main principles of international law of foreign investment
governing international economic relations between States. Areas covered are the
evolution of the law of foreign investment, international efforts to regulate foreign
investment, regulation under bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements
and regional trade and investment agreements, and the case law developed by
various international courts and tribunals, including the International Centre for the
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The aim is to provide a thorough understanding of the law of foreign investment
and the interplay between law and politics in regulating foreign investment. It also
explains the importance of BITs in investment agreements in the absence of
comprehensive workable multilateral investment agreement after the failures of
OECD, World Bank. The course content is divided into 5 modules.
Number of classes 10 to 12 for each module
Module 1: Introduction, history, nature and scope

Meaning and evolution of term investment

History of International Investment Laws
Conflicting economic theories on foreign investment
Sources of laws in international investments
Actors in field of foreign investments
Risks in international investments

Module 2: Principles of International Investments and state liability

The fundamental principles of the law of foreign investment
- Protection against expropriation
- Fair and equitable treatment
- Full protection and security
- National Treatment
- The MFN treatment
- Non-discrimination and fairness
Nature of control by the host states in international investments

 State responsibility for injury to aliens

The liability of multinational corporations and home state measures

Module 3: Model Laws for International Investments

The international norms on multinational corporations
The UNCTC Draft Code on Multinational Corporations
International investment agreement Draft Model
o OECD model
o World Bank model
o The regional agreements
o NAFTA
o The ASEAN Agreements
The WTO and foreign investment TRIMS
o Indonesia Autos case
o Committee on Trade Related Investment Measures
o Relationship with MFN and National treatment and TRIPS

Module 4: Modes of foreign investments and BITs

Modes of foreign investments
o Investment Contracts
o State and Private Contracts
o Foreign Direct Investments
o Portfolio investment
Bilateral investment treaties Origin, content, significance
Preferential Trade Agreements
Treaties of friendship, commerce and navigation
Reasons for bilateral investment treaties
Features of bilateral investment treaties
Repatriation of prots
Nationalization and compensation
Compensation for destruction during wars and national emergencies
Critique of BITs Human rights, ineffectiveness

 Draft Model Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty 2015

Law Commission of India Report 260 analysis of Draft Model Indian
Bilateral Investment Treaty 2015

Module 5: Dispute resolution

Arbitration and the exhaustion of local remedies

Arbitration between states
International Claims Tribunals Iran-US Claims Tribunal
Investment Arbitration, ICSID, Energy Charter Treaty, AFTA,
CAFTA
o White Industries Australia Limited v. The Republic of
India, UNCITRAL
Political Risk Insurance
o MIGA
o National Insurance Programmes
o Private Investment Insurance
o Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPAs)
Succession of governments and bilateral investment treaties
Recommended books
M. Sornarajah, The international law on foreign investment, 2nd edition, CUP
Surya P. Subedi, International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and
Principle (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2008).
J.G. Merrills, International Dispute Settlement, 3rd edn., Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
OECD, 2008, International Investment Law: Understanding Concepts and
Tracking Innovations
WTO Analytical Index, Volume I, 2007, p 504-516