The Master Thesis are dedicated to the analysis of the interrelationship of the term „investment“ of Article 25(1) of the ICSID convention and criterion of the contribution to the development of the host state, which is argued to be part of the definition of investment. The aim of this paper is to draw a map for a legal practitioner, of ways of application and non-application of the criterion of the contribution to the development of the host state. Analysis provided in the Master Thesis explaines how and why the criterion of the contribution to the development of the host state may be applied or not applied within the three divergent approachres to the term „investment“ Article 25(1) of the ICSID convention: the subjective approach, the autonomous objective approach and the autonomous intuitive approach. / Paradoksalu, tačiau net po beveik penkiasdešimties metų sėkmingo veikimo Pasaulio banko įsteigtame tarptautiniame užsienio investicijų apsaugos režime vis dar nesutariama dėl pačios termino „investicija“ sąvokos. 1965 m. Konvencijos dėl valstybių ir kitų valstybių piliečių ginčų investicijų srityje sprendimo (toliau – ICISD konvencija) 25(1) straipsnis įtvirtina investicijos terminą kaip jurisdikcinį kriterijų, tačiau jo neapibrėžia. Tai sąlygoja skirtingą termino „investicija“ interpretavimą tarp jį taikančių arbitražinių tribūnolų. Nagrinėjant investicijos terminą įdomu tai, jog tarp įvairių šiam terminui apibrėžti taikytų kriterijų yra vienas kriterijus išsiskiriantis savo kontraversiškumu. Tai prisidėjimo prie ekonominio valstybės vystymosi kriterijus. Atsižvelgus į šį kontroversiškumą, šio baigiamojo magistro darbo tikslu tapo noras sukurti aktualų žemėlapį, kuriame atsispindėtų būdai įtraukti arba pašalinti minėtą potencialų investicijos kriterijų iš investicijos termino sąvokos.

Settlement of International Investment Disputes The purpose of my thesis is to introduce the basic types of settlement of international investment disputes while focusing especially on arbitration proceedings conducted by tribunals of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, hereinafter referred to as ICSID. The main purpose of the thesis in this respect is to critically evaluate the situation that currently exists in international investment arbitration due to the absence of an appellate review mechanism in ICSID system and to suggest solutions to this problem. The evaluation includes both a description of current possibilities of review and a proposal of an appellate body along with alternatives thereto. The thesis is composed of three chapters. The first chapter is introductory and concerns the basic terminology of international investment law. It focuses on defining the terms investment and investor, i.e. terms that are essential for comprehension of the nature of international investment disputes. It defines the terms using mainly the ICSID case law. The second chapter deals with the individual methods of settlement of investment disputes. First it mentions diplomatic protection as a method used especially in past. It also mentions conciliation proceedings and describes the role...

ANNULMENT OF AWARDS UNDER THE WASHINGTON CONVENTION ON SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTES The annulment mechanism plays a significant role in the system established by the Washington Convention. As a model of review, it strives to reconcile respect for the parties' desire to achieve final and efficient resolution of their dispute with the limited possibility to quash an award which is a product of a fundamentally flawed process. The existence of this exceptional opportunity to annul an award after its issuance has been widely recognized as an important factor in the success of ICSID as a platform for settlement of investment disputes. This thesis focuses on the issue of scope of review exercised by the ad hoc committees in annulment proceedings. The very first generation of ad hoc committees, represented by the annulment decisions in Amco I and Klöckner I, cast a shadow of doubt on ICSID's ability to transform its avowed dedication to the principle of finality into practice. Both of these decisions were accused of crossing the line between limited review anticipated by the Convention and substantive review typical for appellate systems. The primary ambition of this thesis is to explore the legitimacy of these concerns with respect to the current generation of ad hoc committees. Therefore, the first...

One of the prevalent challenges in investor state a dispute settlement in the last decade has been the demand for greater transparency. The call for greater transparency is so apparent to many contemporary observers that many questioned why it took long for ICSID and many Tribunals like it address this issue. It is therefore rather ironic that what was widely held as the main advantages of commercial arbitration is now seen as a liability in the investor state arbitration context. The reforms that ICSID undertook were relatively moderate, well balanced and should be commended transparency is essential in making certain the acceptance and democratic legitimacy of investment arbitration and the governments concerned. Amicus curiae briefs can present a unique view point, offer Tribunals with additional expertise and mirror civil society’s views on issues bearing on the public interest. Therefore there should be moves towards judicialization of arbitration proceedings like by allowing third parties to attend hearings, a greater role for amicus should be sought beyond merely submitting briefs.It is in the public interest that there is greater transparency in investor state arbitration as the legitimacy of the institution depends on it. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Dispute Settlement in International Economic Law - Selected Aspects Abstract At the time of the emergence of investor state arbitration, such regulation of states was seen as necessary to protect Western investors from expropriation of their investments by developing states, in which there was an absence of rule of law and the protections that flow from that. The ICSID Center was established primarily to ensure the availability of an assured impartial and independent dispute resolution service. The increase in the number of cases over the years, together with sometimes expansive, unexpected and inconsistent interpretations of International Investment Agreement provisions by tribunals, had triggered a worldwide debate and a number of countries had adopted reform measures. The EU has proposed a Permanent Investment Court to address criticism, aimed at investment arbitration and to be included as a measure under the TTIP. This concept has been also adopted in the CETA, and if successful, is likely to be adopted in other treaty agreements as the European Parliament has expressed a preference for the proposed investment court under the TTIP to be included in other free trade agreements. The concept of a permanent legal body providing public proceedings and decisions, establishing binding case law to address...

Šis magistro baigiamasis darbas skirtas investicijų apsaugos užsienio valstybėse analizei. Klasikinėje tarptautinėje teisėje visiškas subjektiškumas buvo suprantamas kaip būdingas tik valstybėms, todėl visi tarptautiniai santykiai, tarp jų ir ginčų sprendimas buvo valstybių tarpusavio reikalas. Dėl to, jei reikėdavo ginti asmenį užsienyje patyrusį žalą, tai galima buvo padaryti tik remiantis fikcija – kad žala padaryta asmeniui yra žala padaryta jo valstybei. Jei asmuo investavęs į užsienio valstybę patirdavo žalą dėl neteisėtų investicijas priimančios valstybės veiksmų, jis pats galėdavo kreiptis dėl kompensacijos į vietinius valstybės teismus arba į savo pilietybės ar nacionalinės priklausomybės valstybę, kad ši imtųsi diplomatinių priemonių. Šiuolaikinė tarptautinė teisė subjektų klausimu, galima sakyti, žengia toliau. Šiuo metu fiziniai asmenys yra įgiję dalinį tarptautinį teisinį subjektiškumą žmogaus teisių srityje. Nuosavybės apsauga (tame tarpe ir investicijų apsauga) yra viena iš svarbiausių žmogaus teisių, deklaruojamų tiek valstybių konstitucijose, tiek tarptautiniuose dokumentuose, todėl investuotojai gali patys, be savo valstybės įtraukimo ar įsikišimo, išspręsti investicinį ginčą su investicijas priimančia valstybe. Įvairių instrumentų pagalba šiuolaikinėje tarptautinėje teisėje yra sukurta nemažai pažeistų teisių gynimo mechanizmų, kuriais gali pasinaudoti investuotojai tiek fiziniai, tiek juridiniai asmenys. Jei investuotojas siekia investicinį ginčą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The analysis of the protection of foreign investment is the key object of this master thesis. States were recognized as the only subjects in the classical international law. Therefore all international relationships and disputes where settled between the states themselves. In case of a breach of the rights of a foreign investor it was the state of his nationality to bring any kind of claims in regards to another state. Contemporary international law goes way further in regard to international legal personality of natural persons or legal entities. Partial personality, in particular in the field of human rights, is recognized for the natural/legal persons. Protection of property, as well as investment, is considered to be one of the most fundamental human rights embedded in constitutions and international treaties. Therefore, investors have a right to protect their injured rights by bringing claims in international tribunals. There are quite a few mechanisms for the protection of investors’ rights in the domain of international law. Such as international institutional arbitration, ad hoc arbitration, ECHR, ICSID and diplomatic protection by investor’s state of nationality. The analysis of the investment protection mechanisms wouldn’t be completed without the analysis of the notion of investor itself. There is no universal definition of the notion of investor. In most BIT this notion differs because of the different interests of capital exporting and capital importing countries... [to full text]

Resumé This thesis on selected aspects of the resolution of the international investments disputes tackles the challenge of the arbitrator under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States. Its main aim is to analyze current legal regulation of the arbitrator's qualification and the following challenge procedures. Further to analyze, how is current international practice with regard to issue of impartiality and independence of arbitrators in case law of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Upon such analysis to reveal shortcuts of the legal regulation and case law and propose future improvements for the whole system of the arbitrators' challenges. The thesis itself is dividing into chapters, the first chapter deals with the arbitrators' qualifications and challenges in the international investment arbitration. Further refers to the interpretation of relevant articles of the Washington Convention by arbitral tribunals and to conclusions formulated by them in challenge decisions. The second chapter is base on the comparison between arbitrators' challenges and qualifications in the international investment arbitration and the international commercial arbitration, where is main target to analyze differences of both systems....

Trois pays d’Amérique latine – la Bolivie, l’Équateur et le Venezuela – ont dénoncé la Convention pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements entre États et ressortissants d’autres États. Cette « vague » de dénonciations témoigne d’un rejet du système d’arbitrage, créé par la Convention de Washington, considéré comme déséquilibré, antidémocratique, onéreux et discriminatoire. Aux yeux de l’Amérique latine, l’arbitrage CIRDI serait conçu pour bénéficier exclusivement aux investisseurs au détriment des États hôtes des investissements. Dans ce travail de recherche, l’approche de l’Amérique latine relative à la Convention de Washington sera présentée en deux étapes. D’abord, les évolutions liées au cadre économique et juridique latino-américain, des prémices de la Convention en 1964, jusqu’á son adoption définitive dans les années 90, seront analysées. Puis seront abordées les principales critiques émises actuellement contre le système d’arbitrage CIRDI. Quels sont les facteurs déterminants du changement dans les politiques en matière d’investissements étrangers en Amérique latine ? Les pays, qui ont dénoncé la Convention de Washington, ont-ils des raisons suffisamment valables de rejeter l’arbitrage transnational en matière d’investissements ? Le CIRDI a-t-il failli dans l’accomplissement de ses fonctions ? Ce travail de recherche vise à répondre à ces questions en analysant la Convention de Washington sous un angle latino-américain. / Three countries in Latin America - Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela - have denounced the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States. This "wave" of denunciations reflects a negative perception of the arbitration system created by the ICSID Convention, which is described as unbalanced, undemocratic, expensive and discriminatory. In Latin America’s view, ICSID arbitration was created to benefit only to investors at the expense of investments’ host states. This research focuses on the Latin America’s approach on the Washington Convention addressing it in two stages. First, the Latin American economic and legal framework in the early discussions on the draft of the Convention in 1964 and its subsequent adoption in the 1990s will be addressed. Secondly, the subjects that currently arouse the main criticisms to the ICSID arbitration system will be detailed. What are the reasons of change in foreign investment policies in Latin America? Do the countries that denounced the Washington Convention have acceptable reasons for rejecting investments’ transnational arbitration? Did ICSID failed in the performance of its duties? This research aims to answer these questions by analyzing the Washington Convention from the Latin American perspective.

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In the current investment climate, most investor-state disputes are settled through investment arbitration. Investor-state arbitration enables the foreign investor to bring a case before a neutral forum, whose decision is binding and enforceable in countries across the world. In instances where the dispute is governed by an arbitration clause, the clause places the disputing parties under the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal. In the event of achieving a victory, the investor may nonetheless come up against the obstacle of state sovereignty, even though the state party has ostensibly waived sovereign immunity from jurisdiction. If a state rejects to comply with an award, then investors must commence a worldwide search (forum-shopping), with a view to retrieving the assets that have been awarded. In instances where the state party is victorious, there is a danger that the award payment will not be made if the foreign investor has already declared bankruptcy. Although there are two Conventions (ICSID and the New York Convention) that facilitate the enforcement of arbitral awards, neither one is sufficient to preclude the emergence of the enforcement issue. In both instances, this issue is damaging as it wastes time and money, ultimately contributing to wider inefficiencies and uncertainties in investor-state arbitration. In addressing themselves to this problem and aspiring to the reduction of the obstacle of sovereign immunity from execution, scholars and practitioners have put forward two practical solutions; firstly, a hybrid sovereignty act has been proposed; secondly, it has been suggested that the World Bank could take punitive action, refusing to provide the state party with further loans until the award is resolved. However, these proposals have, to date, not been practically applied or developed. This thesis has two primary objectives: firstly, it attempts to analyse previous solutions that have been addressed to the enforcement issue of ICSID awards: secondly, it addresses itself to two alternatives: 1) that the ICSID Administrative council can review compliance with awards; 2) that countermeasures can be initiated against the failing state under the law of state responsibility (the ILC Articles on State Responsibility). In concluding, the thesis will consider the various advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the aforementioned solutions, ultimately proposing an approach that is best-suited to upholding the interest of the victorious party at the enforcement stage.