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
- Bungenberg, M. and Reinisch, A., CETA Investment Law: Article-by-Article Commentary, Baden-Baden, Nomos, München, C.H. Beck, Oxford, Hart, 2022.
- Happ, R. Wilske, S., Lewandowski, R. and Raynal, M. (eds.), ICSID Rules and Regulations 2022: Article-by-Article Commentary, München, C.H. Beck, Oxford, Hart Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2022.
- Paparinskis, M. (ed.), Basic Documents on International Investment Protection, Second edition, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2019.
- Schill, S.W., Malintoppi, L. Reinisch, A., Schreuer, C.H. and Sinclair, A. (eds.), Commentary on the ICSID Convention: a Commentary on the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States, Third edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
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.
- 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
- Beaumont, B. [et al.] (eds.), The Future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Reforming Law, Practice and Perspectives for a Fast-Changing World, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2024.
- Calamita, N. and Giannakopoulos, C., ASEAN and the Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Global Challenges and Regional Options, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.
- Chaisse, J. , Choukroune, L. and Jusoh, S. (eds.), Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy, Singapore Springer, 2021.
- Collins, D., An Introduction to International Investment Law, Second edition, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- Dolzer, R., U. Kriebaum and C. Schreuer, Principles of International Investment Law, Third Edition, 2 Volumes, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2022.
- 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.
- Klee, A.-K., Die Rechtsfolgen der Nichterfüllung von Investorenpflichten, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2023.
- Krajewski, K. and Hoffmann, R.T. (eds.), Research Handbook on Foreign Direct Investment, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
- Kröll, S., A.K. Bjorklund and F. Ferrari (eds.), Cambridge Compendium of International Commercial and Investment Arbitration. Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- Kulick, A. and M. Waibel (eds.), General International Law in International Investment Law: A Commentary, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024.
- 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.
- Mangan, M. and N. Rubins (eds.), The Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement, Second edition, London, Law Business Research Ltd., 2023.
- Nanteuil, A. de, Droit international de l'investissement, 3e édition, Paris, Pedone, 2020.
- Ndulo, M. and A.N. Chase, International Law and Foreign Direct Investment, Durham, Carolina Academic Press, 2020.
- Reinisch, A. and S. Schill (eds.), Investment Protection Standards and the Rule of Law, Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Salacuse, J.W., The Law of Investment Treaties, Third edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021.
- Tams, C.J., Schill, S.W., Hofmann, R., (eds.), International Investment Law and General International Law: Radiating Effects? Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023.
- Yannaca-Small, K. (ed.), Arbitration under international investment agreements: a guide to the key issues, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018.
Recent books and peer-reviewed articles
- Abel, P., International Investor Obligations: towards Individual International Responsibility for the Public Interest in International Investment Law, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2022.
- 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.
- Adekemi, A.O., Attracting African States Participation in a Multilateral Investment Court: Reforming Substantive and Procedural Law through an MIC, Cham, Springer, 2024.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Damjanovic, I., The European Union and International Investment Law Reform: between Aspirations and Reality, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- 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.
- Esplugues Mota, C., El control de las inversiones extranjeras en la Unión Europea, Valencia, Tirant lo Blanch, 2023.
- Gore, K.N., Putilin, E., Duggal, K.A.N, and Baltag, C. (eds.), International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: emerging issues, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2023.
- Hankings-Evans, A., China-Afrika-BITs im Lichte globaler Machtverlagerungen: Macht- und Gerechtigkeitsnormen in der Investitionsrechtsbeziehung, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2024.
- Hazarika, A., State-to-state Arbitration based on International Investment Agreements: Scope, Utility and Potential, Cham, Springer, 2020.
- Herdegen, M., Principles of International Economic Law, Third edition, Oxford, OUP, 2024.
- Ho, J. and M. Sattorova (eds.), Investors’ International Law, National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, Oxford, Hart, 2021.
- Kammerhofer, J., International Investment Law and Legal Theory: Expropriation and the Fragmentation of Sources, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
- Kapulula, Chisomo. Cohesion and Legitimacy in the International Law on Foreign Investment : Perspectives from Public International Law and Global Administrative Law. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2022.
- Kebe, M., The African Continental Free Trade Area and the future of investor-state dispute settlement in Africa, Cambridge, Antwerp, Chicago, Intersentia, 2023.
- Keller, M., EU Investment Protection Law: Chapter Eight of CETA, the Vietnam and Singapore Free Trade Agreements and EU Regulations 1219/2012, 912/2014 and 2019/452 : Article-By-Article Commentary, München, Beck, 2023.
- Kidane, W.L., Africa’s International Investment Law Regimes, Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Kozyakova, A., Foreign Investor Misconduct in International Investment Law, Cham Springer, 2021.
- Kryvoi, Y., International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Fifth edition, Kluwer Law International, 2023.
- Lim, C.L. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to International Arbitration, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
- Ludwig, C., Die Kontrolle ausländischer Direktinvestitionen: Unions- und verfassungsrechtliche Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Investitionskontrollrechts, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2023.
- Merkouris, Panos, et al., editors. Custom and Its Interpretation in International Investment Law. Cambridge University Press, 2024.
- Monebhurrun, Nitish, et al., editors. International Investment Law and Arbitration from a Latin American Perspective. Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024.
- Ouaniche, M. and S. Prigent, Compensation for Damage in International Investment Arbitration: Practical Guide, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2022.
- Perrone, N.M., Investment Treaties and the Legal Imagination: How Foreign Investors Play By Their Own Rules, Oxford, OUP, 2021.
- Petsche, M.A., The Concept of Investment in ICSID Arbitration, Oxford, OUP, 2024.
- Ranjan, P., India and Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Affronting Sovereignty or Indicting Capriciousness? Abingdon, Routledge, 2024.
- Scheu, J. (ed.), Creation and Implementation of a Multilateral Investment Court, Baden-Baden, Nomos; Wien, facultas; Zürich, Dike Verlag; Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2022.
- 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.
- Subedi, S.P., International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle, Fifth edition, Oxford, Hart, 2024.
- VanDuzer, J.A. and Leblond, P. (eds.), Promoting and Managing International Investment: Towards an Integrated Policy Approach, Abingdon, Routledge, 2020.
- Yu, C., Dispute Settlement and the Reform of International Investment Law: Legalization through Adjudication, Cheltenham: Edgar Elgar Publishing, 2023.
- Zheng, Y., China's Foreign Investment Legal Regime: toward China's Development Goals, Leiden, Boston, Brill Nijhoff, 2023.
For all peer-reviewed articles in the PPL Catalogue, click here.
Periodicals, serial publications
- 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
- Revista de Arbitraje Commercial y de Inversiones (Arbitraje)
- 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.
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