Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a category of investment that reflects the objective of establishing a lasting interest by a resident enterprise in one economy in an enterprise that is resident in an economy other than that of the direct investor. The lasting interest implies the existence of a long-term relationship between the direct investor and the direct investment enterprise and a significant degree of influence on the management of the enterprise. Basic forms of FDI are investment made to develop a production or manufacturing plant from the ground up (“greenfield investments”), mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. Three components of FDI are usually identified: equity capital, reinvested earnings, and intracompany loans.
FDI is considered to be both an important indicator and a driving force of what is called economic globalization. The growth of FDI has been facilitated by various political actors, including national governments and international organizations. FDI inflow is considered as a crucial presupposition of economic development. FDI has potentially both positive and negative effects on host economies. These effects depend on a number of factors, including a host economy’s level of development, the type of investment, and the position of the particular investment site in the investor’s business strategy.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is an autonomous international institution established under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States. The primary purpose of ICSID is to provide facilities for conciliation and arbitration of international investment disputes. The ICSID Convention is a multilateral treaty formulated by the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank). It was opened for signature on March 18, 1965 and entered into force on October 14, 1966.
Although ICSID is considered to be the leading international arbitration institution devoted to investor-State arbitration, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the European Union and the United States included an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, whereby individual foreign investors may bring claims against host state governments for breach of the TTIP’s investment protection standards. This ISDS system is comparable to what has been included in agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA 'Chapter 11'), and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on Foreign Direct Investment. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's subject heading (keyword) Foreign Direct Investment is instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Sources of international law
Treaties
- Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States [Washington, D.C., 18 March 1965]
- ICSID Convention, Regulations and Rules
- Paparinskis, M. (ed.), Basic Documents on International Investment Protection, Second edition, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2019.
- Schreuer, C.H., The ICSID Convention: A Commentary: A Commentary on the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Case-law
- Bishop, R.D., Crawford, J. and Reisman, W.M., Foreign Investment Disputes: Cases, Materials and Commentary, Second edition, Alphen aan den Rijn, Wolters Kluwer, Law & Business, 2014. [e-book]
- Lim, C.L., Ho, J. and Paparinskis., M., International Investment Law and Arbitration: Commentary, Awards, and other Materials, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018.
- Gaillard, E., La jurisprudence du CIRDI, Paris, Pedone, 2004.
- ICSID Reports
- Ruiz Fabri, H. and E. Stoppioni (eds), International Investment Law: An Analysis of the Major Decisions, Oxford; New York, Hart Publishing; Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
Reference works
- Bungenberg, M. and Reinisch, A. (eds.), From Bilateral Arbitral Tribunals and Investment Courts to a Multilateral Investment Court: Options regarding the Institutionalization of Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Berlin, Springer, 2020.
- Calamita, N. and Giannakopoulos, C., ASEAN and the Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Global Challenges and Regional Options, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. [e-book]
- Chaisse, J. , Choukroune, L. and Jusoh, S. (eds.), Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy, Singapore Springer, 2021.
- Dolzer, R., U. Kriebaum and C. Schreuer, Principles of International Investment Law, Third Edition, 2 Volumes, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2022.
- Esplugues, C. (ed.), Foreign Investment and Investment Arbitration in Asia, Cambridge, Intersentia, 2019. [e-book]
- Gáspár-Szilágyi, S., Behn, D. and Langford, M. (eds.), Adjudicating Trade and Investment Disputes: Convergence or Divergence?, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020. [e-book]
- Hober, K., Investment Treaty Arbitration: Problems and Exercises, Northampton, MA, USA, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018.
- Kahn, P. et T.W. Wälde, Les aspects nouveaux du droit des investissements internationaux, La Haye, Académie de droit international de La Haye, 2007.
- Kinnear, M.N. [et al.] (eds.), Building International Investment Law: the First 50 Years of ICSID, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2016. [e-book]
- Krajewski, K. and Hoffmann, R.T. (eds.), Research Handbook on Foreign Direct Investment, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
- Malintoppi, L. and Tan, C. (eds.), Investment Protection in Southeast Asia : a Country-by-Country Guide on Arbitration Laws and Bilateral Investment Treaties, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2017.
- Nanteuil, A. de, Droit international de l'investissement, 3e édition, Paris, Pedone, 2020.
- Salacuse, J.W., The Law of Investment Treaties, Third edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021.
- Scheu, J. (ed.), Creation and Implementation of a Multilateral Investment Court, Baden-Baden, Nomos; Wien, facultas; Zürich, Dike Verlag; Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2022.
- Yannaca-Small, K. (ed.), Arbitration under international investment agreements: a guide to the key issues, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018. [e-book]
Selected books and articles
- Abel, P., International Investor Obligations: towards Individual International Responsibility for the Public Interest in International Investment Law, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2022. [e-book]
- Ackermann, T. and Wuschka, S., Investments in conflict zones: the role of international investment law in armed conflicts, disputed territories, and 'frozen' conflicts, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2021. [e-book]
- Akbaba, M. and Capurro, G. (eds.), International Challenges in Investment Arbitration, New York, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019.
- Anderson, A.M. and Beaumont, B. (eds.), The Investor-State Dispute Settlement System: Reform, Replace or Status Quo? Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2021.
- Audit, M., Bollée, S. et Callé, P., Droit du commerce international et des investissements étrangers, 3e édition, Issy-les-Moulineaux, LGDJ, 2019.
- Baetens, F., "Protecting Foreign Investment and Public Health through Arbitral Balancing and Treaty Design", International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 71 (2022), No. 1, pp. 139-182.
- Dahlquist, J., The use of commercial arbitration rules in investment treaty disputes: domestic courts, commercial arbitration institutions and tribunal jurisdiction, Leiden, The Netherlands, Koninklijke Brill NV, 2021.
- De Brabandere, E., Gazzini, T. and Kent, A., (eds.), Public Participation and Foreign Investment Law: from the Creation of Rights and Obligations to the Settlement of Disputes, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2021.
- De Stefano, C., Attribution in International Law and Arbitration, First edition, Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2020.
- Ebert, B.P., Forum Shopping in International Investment Law: Forum Planning, Forum Enhancement, and Facilitation of Procedure - Assessment and Limits, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2017.
- Fouret, J., Gerbay, R.and Alvarez, G. (eds.), The ICSID convention, regulations and rules: a practical commentary, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
- Fukunaga, Y., "Precedent in Investment Arbitration: is an Institutionalized Investment Court more desirable?", In: Chia-Jui Cheng (ed.) A New Global Economic Order: New Challenges to International Trade Law, Leiden, Brill Nijhoff, 2022, pp. 301-339.
- Gattini, A., Tanzi, A. and Fontanelli, F. (eds.), General principles of law and international investment arbitration, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2018.
- Geneste, A., Performance requirement prohibitions in international investment law, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2019.
- Hazarika, A., State-to-state Arbitration based on International Investment Agreements: Scope, Utility and Potential, Cham, Springer, 2020. [e-book]
- Kammerhofer, J., International Investment Law and Legal Theory: Expropriation and the Fragmentation of Sources, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
- Kozyakova, A., Foreign Investor Misconduct in International Investment Law, Cham Springer, 2021. [e-book]
- Kryvoi, Y., International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Fourth edition, Kluwer Law International, 2020. [e-book]
- McLachlan, C., Shore, L. and Weiniger, M., International Investment Arbitration: Substantive Principles, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
- Pahis, S, "BIT's & Bonds: the International Law and Economics of Sovereign Debt", American journal of international law, 115 (2021), No. 2, pp. 242-280.
- Pantaleo, L.,The Participation of the EU in International Dispute Settlement: Lessons from EU Investment Agreements, Cham, Springer, 2019. [e-book]
- Perrone, N.M., Investment Treaties and the Legal Imagination: How Foreign Investors Play By Their Own Rules, Oxford, OUP, 2021. [e-book]
- Sharmin, T., Application of Most-Favoured-Nation Clauses by Investor-State Arbitral Tribunals: Implications for the Developing Countries, Singapore, Springer, 2020.
- Sornarajah, M., The International Law on Foreign Investment, Fifth edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020.
- Stanič, A. and Baltag, C. (eds.), The Future of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the EU: Intra-EU BITs, the Energy Charter Treaty, and the Multilateral Investment Court, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2020. [e-book]
- Tanzi, A.M., "On judicial autonomy and the autonomy of the parties in international adjudication, with special regard to investment arbitration and ICSID annulment proceedings", Leiden Journal of International Law, 33 (2020), No. 1, pp. 57-75.
- VanDuzer, J.A. and Leblond, P. (eds.), Promoting and Managing International Investment: Towards an Integrated Policy Approach, Abingdon, Routledge, 2020.
- Yen, T.H., The Interpretation of Investment Treaties, Leiden, Boston,Brill Nijhoff, 2014.
- Zrilič, J., The Protection of Foreign Investment in Times of Armed Conflict, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2019.
Periodicals, serial publications
- Arbitraje: Revista de arbitraje comercial y de inversiones
- Arbitration International
- European investment law and arbitration review
- Global Trade and Customs Journal
- ICSID Reports
- ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal
- Investment Promotion and Protection Treaties
- Journal of International Arbitration
- Journal of International Dispute Settlement
- Journal of International Economic Law
- Journal of World Investment and Trade
- Manchester Journal of International Economic Law
- Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business
- Reinisch, A. (ed.), Classics in International Investment Law, 2 Vols., Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, MA, USA, Edward Elgar, 2014.
- Recht der internationalen Wirtschaft
- Studien zum internationalen Investitionsrecht
- Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce
- World Trade Review
- Yearbook on International Investment Law & Policy
Bibliographies
- Kost, I.L. and M. Statius Muller, "Selected Bibliography on International Investment Law", Austrian Review of International and European Law, 13 (2008), pp. 469-497.
- Statius Muller, M. and H. Thyssen, "Selected Bibliography on International Investment Law", New Aspects of International Investment Law, Leiden, Nijhoff, 2007, pp. 853-987.
- Répertoire de droit international: Arbitrage: CIRDI – Charles LEBEN – Mars 2010
- Répertoire de droit international: Investissements – Dominique CARREAU – Janvier 2020 (actualisation: Février 2021)
- International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Database of Bilateral Investment Treaties
- Investment Arbitration Reporter (IA Reporter)
Investment Arbitration Reporter is a news and analysis service focusing on the international law that applies to foreign investment, particularly the international treaties and arbitration claims that arise in this context. The database offers detailed and nuanced coverage, with a particular focus on investigation of unreported cases and comprehensive review. This service is renowned for its investigative focus: offering a window into otherwise confidential proceedings and discussion of legal documents and important policy developments.
Investment Claims from Oxford University Press offers access to international investment law and arbitration materials. The content comes with the guarantee of preparation and validation by experts. In addition, the enhanced Oxford Law Citator enables new and easy research journeys with unsurpassed cross-referencing, linking, and citation options. For each item of content, a Citator record is available, providing an overview of the item and links to all related items in online law resources from Oxford University Press and selected 3rd party websites.
Investor-State LawGuide (ISLG) is a comprehensive research tool in the area of investment treaty arbitration. ISLG contains rules, conventions, bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements and arbitration decisions, all of which are cross-referenced. Database research tools include subject navigation, terms and connectors indexing, and an article citator, which shows how a specific legal instrument is considered by tribunals. It also includes a jurisprudence citator showing how specific decisions have been treated by subsequent tribunals.
On the 1 June 2021, Professor Eric De Brabandere and Dr Daniel Peat of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law School launched the Leiden Investment Treaty Arbitration Database. The objective of the database, which is freely available, is to facilitate research on the procedural and institutional dimensions of investment-treaty arbitration. The creation of this database was based on the conviction that a reliable data-set on investment treaty arbitration, the appointed arbitrators, the institutions which have administered the proceedings, the nationality of the parties to the dispute, the respondent States, and the counsel, amongst others, is an important tool for research on various legal, political, social and sociological aspects of investment treaty arbitration.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Investment
- PCA Investor-State Arbitrations
- International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- International Investment Law Centre Cologne
- Investment Treaty Arbitration
- Foreign Trade Information System about Investment, National Legislation
- Grotius Centre launches The Leiden University Investment Treaty Arbitration Database [June 1, 2021]