Jurisdiction in Investment Treaty Arbitration

About the IAI Series on International Arbitration:
The IAI (International Arbitration Institute) Series on International Arbitration is a publication focusing on topical questions of international arbitration discussed at conferences organized by the IAI.

About the IAI:
The International Arbitration Institute (IAI) is an organization created under the auspices of the Comité Français de l'Arbitrage (CFA) with the purpose of fostering exchanges in the field of international arbitration. It currently has over 600 members on a worldwide basis. Its activities include the organization of international conferences, as well as the publication of a Directory of Members, which is the most highly regarded freely accessible source of information on international arbitration specialists.

About the Book:
This book is based on the Conference organized by the IAI in Paris on October 14, 2010 on Jurisdiction in Treaty Investment Arbitration. At this Conference, distinguished speakers active in the area of investment treaty arbitration shared their experience and perspective on the three grounds of challenge to the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals in investment treaty arbitration.

The first part of the volume is devoted to Jurisdiction ratione materiae, i.e., the notion of ‘investment’. What constitutes an investment? Is there an economic definition of an investment? Is there a legal definition of an investment? What requirements are found in investment treaties? The various aspects of this crucial concept are covered, respectively, by an economist (Vicky Pryce), by international arbitration specialists, be they academics, arbitrators or practitioners (Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Judge Stephen M. Schwebel and Stanimir Alexandrov, Michael Polkinghorne and Peter Turner), and by State representatives experienced in the negotiation and drafting of investment treaties (Christophe Douaire de Bondy for Canada, Roberto Echandi Gurdián for Costa Rica and Jae-Hoon Kim for Korea).

The second part focuses on Jurisdiction ratione materiae, namely the definition of the protected investor. Doak Bishop reports on whether there is a standard definition of an ‘investor’ in investment treaties; Yas Banifatemi discusses the issue of control under denial of benefits clauses, and Professor Geneviève Bastid-Burdeau analyses whether there are specific standards of jurisdiction when defining the defendant State.

The third and last part of the volume is dedicated to Jurisdiction ratione temporis: what is covered in time by the relevant treaty? Veijo Heiskanen examines whether there is a distinction between jurisdiction ratione temporis and substantive protection ratione temporis. Zachary Douglas then focuses on the determination of the critical date in investment treaty arbitration.

The volume also includes the proceedings of the animated debates that followed each session of the Conference.

This conference was the first to gather together economists, academics, arbitrators, practitioners and State negotiators in relation to investment treaty arbitration. This volume is required reading for all those involved in the study and practice of investment treaty arbitration.