What is the most feasible way towards a Multilateral
Investment Treaty? In order to address this question, this article examines
from a comparative perspective examples of multilateral treaties which followed
two different treaty-making models: a successful Critical Mass Agreement (CMA)
(the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) concluded at the Singapore
Ministerial Conference in 1996) and a Plurilateral Agreement (PA) (the
Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) set out in Annex 4 to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) Agreement). It then considers the lessons to be learnt from
the draft Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) proposed by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an example of a
multilateral agreement on investment that did not materialise. Drawing on the
experiences and outcomes of the ITA, GPA and MAI-OECD, this article concludes
that a Plurilateral Agreement on Investment (PAI) is the most feasible way
towards a Multilateral Investment Treaty.