Developments in IIA treaty-making

There has been significant legal evolution in IIA treaty-making since the conclusion of the first BIT between Germany and Pakistan in 1959. The number of IIAs has increased exponentially over the past 50 years, creating a complex overlapping network of IIAs with varied procedural and substantive protections for foreign investors. According to UNCTAD, by the end of 2010, there were 2,807 BITs, 309 other international agreements with investment related provisions and 2,976 double taxation treaties. ¹ IIAs have not only significantly increased in number, but also in length and complexity. Investment promotion and protection obligations are increasingly being integrated into comprehensive FTAs, creating complex interactions between trade and investment obligations and other international regimes, including international environmental law and international human rights law. Further, IIA treaty-making has begun responding to an array of controversial legal issues that have arisen in investor-state arbitrations. As the contributions in this book demonstrate, IIA treaty-making continues to evolve by adopting procedural innovations in the investor-state arbitration process and clarifying the scope of investment protections.