Examining the formative aspect of investment treaty commitments: Lessons from commercial law and trade law

• Main Author: HSU, Locknie
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Commercial Law; Dispute Resolution and Arbitration; International Trade Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1279; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma99468638402601&context=L&vid=65SMU_INST:SMU_NUI&lang=en&search_scope=Everything&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Reshaping%20the%20Investor-State%20Dispute%20Settlement%20System&offset=0
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Criticisms of the current investor-state dispute settlement system stemming from a large number of bilateral investment treaties are well known. These include a lack of consistency in arbitral reasoning among tribunals, the lack of an appellate mechanism, selection and choice of arbitrators, costs and arbitral decisions affecting matters of public interest. Criticisms are directed at the process, the outcomes as well as the players. In order to address these, solutions or changes need to be directed at the formative process leading to the treaty commitments.