Arbitration with State Parties in Foreign Investment Disputes: A Rule of Law Approach to Domestic Restrictions on Consent and Arbitrability

This book deals with the questions arising from domestic restrictions on the ability and authority of State parties to submit to international arbitration and the invocability of these restrictions in foreign investment disputes from the perspective of the International Rule of Law.

The restrictions at issue are frequently relied upon by host States and their entities in both contract-based and treaty-based investment disputes to challenge the validity of expressed consent or the arbitrability of disputes within its scope. However, there exists a considerable divergence in arbitral and judicial practice regarding the treatment of these restrictions.

The aim of this book is to reconcile the divergent approaches by proposing a balanced standard that strengthens legality, certainty, equality, and access to justice as pillars of the Rule of Law. This standard not only guides international arbitrators and national judges in resolving the conflict between the public and private interests involved in light of the International Rule of Law but also enables host States and investors to know with certainty what obligations they must fulfil to avoid disruption of the arbitration process.