Shifting the Emphasis from Investment Protection to Liberalization and Development: The EU as a New Global Factor in the Field of Foreign Investment

Author(s):  
Angelos DIMOPOULOS
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Femi Oluyeju ◽  
Kuda Tshiamo

This article seeks to interrogate the advantages and disadvantages of beneficiation law for Botswana’s mining industry and its implications for foreign investment protection. Furthermore, it argues that the enactment of beneficiation law could stimulate economic growth and development in Botswana. On a proper analysis of the potential of beneficiation law it seems plain that it may facilitate the integration, of among others, the cutting and polishing segments through the backward and forward linkages in the entire diamond value chain to move Botswana diamond industry a step further as a new and emerging jewellery manufacturing and retail center in order to derive maximum returns from the rough diamond production. Quite clearly, cutting and polishing of diamonds in Botswana is bound to promote employment which in turn will promote demand for goods and services that would have a positive impact on economic growth in Botswana.  The paper concludes that on a balance, the opportunities accruable from the enactment of this law far outweigh the downsides and will not in any way scare investors away as some have perceived it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-224
Author(s):  
D. A. Potapov

The paper examines the role of investment cooperation and national foreign investment regime as a means to promote China’s economic and political interests and to respond to new global challenges that the country faces nowadays. To this end, the author examines the main stages of China’s liberalization of the legal regime for foreign investment from the end of the 1970s with a special focus on a new foreign investment law. In doing so the author attempts to link the evolution of investment regulation in the PRC with the dynamics of international relations development and the changing role of China as a regional and global actor. The author emphasizes that a trend towards the emergence of a polycentric world order not only provokes the rise of international tensions but also provides new incentives to promote dialogue and enhance cooperation between states and non-governmental actors, particularly by encouraging foreign investments. At the same time, there is a growing need to improve regulatory mechanisms for direct foreign investments. All these contradictory trends have directly affected China’s foreign investment regime reform. In this context the investment cooperation between the PRC and the European Union is of particular importance. The EU possesses a set of innovative technological solutions and competencies that are of particular interest to the Chinese leaders in the context of their efforts to modernize the country’s economy. The paper examines the volume, dynamics and key directions of investment flows between China and the EU member-states. The fact that after seven years of difficult negotiations, the EU and China managed to develop a special bilateral regulatory mechanism — EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment — underscores again the importance of this cooperation for both parties. Even though the EU has suspended the ratification of this deal on the pretext of human right violations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the author concludes, that in the future this agreement will come into force, since the very logic of the emerging polycentric world order urges for deeper cooperation between the EU and China. In this context, the investment regulation appears not only as a means to protect the Chinese economic interests, but also as an instrument to strengthen China’s international positions in the changing global context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Janina Witkowska

The aim of this paper is to discuss new trends that have occurred in the policies of the EU and China towards foreign direct investment (FDI), to examine some implications of the EU‑China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) – which is currently being negotiated – for their bilateral relations, and to assess the role which China’s “One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) initiative might play in its relations with the new EU Member States. The EU established freedom of capital movement with third countries; however, the introduction of the common investment policy has encountered some obstacles. These are related to investor protection and ISDS issues. In turn, China is carrying out an independent state policy towards foreign investment with limited liberalization of FDI flows. The negotiated EU‑China CAI is expected to create conditions conducive to bilateral foreign investment flows, and it might bring positive effects for their economies in the future. However, the progress made thus far in the negotiations is still limited. The relations between China and the new EU Member states (CEE countries) are characterized by common interests in the field of FDI flows. The new EU countries are interested in attracting Chinese FDI and seem not to show the fears that have arisen in the old EU countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Riffel

Abstract In Opinion 1/17, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found the investment court system compatible with European Union (EU) law. The ruling concerned the mechanism in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) but the Court’s reasoning is equally applicable to other investment courts as established, for example, in the EU’s investment protection agreements with Singapore and Vietnam. This outcome was far from clear, given that in the past the accession to international dispute settlement bodies regularly foundered on the autonomy of the EU legal order. The present article parses the CETA Opinion and explores its implications. It particularly focuses on autonomy as a constitutional principle and its advancement in Opinion 1/17. Importantly, the ECJ accepted the superiority of a court created by international agreement in relation to the said agreement. Furthermore, it clarified that it is not prerequisite for the Court to rule first on the meaning to be given to an act of EU law before that act can be the subject matter of an investment dispute. Finally, the pdrerogative of the EU to autonomously set the level of protection of a public welfare goal must be secured in a treaty for the EU to join it.


Author(s):  
Rubins Noah ◽  
Nektarios Papanastasiou Thomas ◽  
Kinsella N Stephan

This second edition explores the multi-layered legal framework for the protection of foreign investment against political risk. The chapters analyze some of the key issues surrounding this subject, such as structuring transactions to minimize political risk, political risk insurance, State responsibility, treaties protecting foreign investmentand international arbitration between States and investors. Since the previous edition, far more attention has been paid to some of these issues, in particular investor–State arbitration.All chapters have been revised to take into account the number of new arbitration awards that have come to light and the massive volume of commentary on the subject of international investment arbitration since the first edition. The authors have carefully considered the latest theoretical approaches to foreign investment protection and the most intellectually challenging awards issued in the intervening decade, as well as the most recent practical guidance on the procedural recourse available to investors who face political risks. The book is written to appeal to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. It is suitable as a primer for non-specialist practitioners seeking to familiarize themselves with international law pertaining to political risk. It is also suitable for students who intend to specialize in international investment law.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document