The proliferation of multilateral and bilateral investment treaties is raising significant questions of international law and human rights law. This article examines two aspects of the emerging jurisprudence, the controversy over regulatory 'takings' and the expanding jurisdiction of international arbitrators and questions whether a proper understanding of the balance of risks involved is emerging. The representation of the risk as opposing the individual investor against the state conceals the reality of the likelihood that the 'individual investor' will be a multinational company and states are squeezed into more and more compromised situations as their policy space disappears. This is particularly true in environmental regulations as governments find that Bilateral Treaties have 'stabilization' clauses which freeze regulations in time stopping new scientific advances.
Business Law Review