The article elucidates whether settlement agreements between a host state and a foreign investor would qualify as a waiver of the investors’ claim before an investment-arbitral tribunal.
Author
Aryan Tulsyan, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
Most International Investment Agreements (“IIAs”) contain a specific dispute settlement clause, providing access to avenues such as investment arbitration and domestic courts to the investors. A waiver in the context of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) refers to the waiver of protection offered by an IIA. It means that the investor-claimant waives their right to approach an investment arbitral tribunal which has been established by the governing IIA, with regards to claims that may arise against the host state (defendants).
There exists literature on the constitution of a waiver upon selection of domestic forums (see Hoffman, Spiermann) and on Calvo Clauses, present in Latin American Investor-State concession contracts, as per which the rights of a foreign investor are limited to availing the host state’s local legal remedies and a waiver of investment arbitration. However, this article does not analyze waivers in the context of Calvo Clauses or available local remedies. The article elucidates whether settlement agreements between a host state and a foreign investor would qualify as a waiver of the investors’ claim before an investment-arbitral tribunal.
Published in: Centre for Research in International Law
To read the full article, please click here.
