Following
the transfer, pursuant to the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon, of jurisdiction over
direct foreign investment to European institutions, the European Union obtained
exclusive jurisdiction in this area in 2009, and has become fully involved.
Within Europe, the European Commission has since then carried out a systematic
policy of destroying investment arbitration, firstly directed against arbitral
proceedings themselves and now targeted against the treaties concluded by
member States, in which arbitration is offered. Outside Europe, the Commission intervenes
as negotiator of new agreements with third party States and proposes in this
context a revolution of the current litigation model, since the aim is to
replace arbitral tribunals by a permanent jurisdiction specializing in
investment. What are the meaning of and the future for such initiatives? The
purpose of the following article is to provide an answer to these questions, by
proposing a detailed analysis of the actions taken by the European Union
against investment arbitration.