ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of the role of foreign investments in the development of offshore/marine sectors. It also provides a brief explanation and comparison of the key characteristics of the law of the sea and of international investment law. A review of investment disputes brought before arbitral tribunals shows that the number of disputes concerning foreign investments relating to maritime activities is, thus far, relatively scarce. The chapter discusses a number of interaction examples within conflict of norms, policy conflicts, coexistence and complementarity, and cross-fertilization. Policy conflicts intertwine the issue of contradictory values and objectives of two bodies of norms with the State's policy choices. Coexistence occurs when a State must comply with obligations of two sets of norms that simply coexist without conflicting with each other. Potential cross-fertilization encompasses situations where elements of one set of norms, concepts, and principles can be of aid in the interpretation and/or development of another set of norms.
