In order to solve the problem of treaty shopping, drafters of some investment treaties introduced the Control Rule into the definition of investors. Some treaty drafters also inserted the Denial of Benefits Clause to confine the scope of eligible investors. However, neither of them is workable under the tendency of broadly defined scope of investors in modern investment treaties. It is desirable to enhance the method of treaty interpretation by arbitral tribunals to prevent treaty shopping. The Denial of Benefits Clause should also be modified for such purpose.

International Arbitration Law Library, Volume 63 [IALL-63] Many corporations engage in treaty shopping – or ‘nationality planning’ – to procure investment treaty protection by attainment of a nationality of convenience. This book is the first in-depth exploration of a substantive legal basis by which to assess the bona fides of a corporate investor’s identity in a convenient jurisdiction: i.e., examination of the purpose for which a corporate exists in the ownership structure of the relevant investment. In a comprehensive review of the concept of treaty shopping, the author examines the degree to which manipulation of corporate nationality is consistent with the objects and purposes of the investment treaty regime, and analyses its effect on the legitimacy of investor-state dispute mechanisms. To evaluate a substantive test for a bona fide investor, the book looks to analogous areas of international law such as the law of diplomatic protection and double tax treaties, and reviews in detail the relevance in investment treaty law of such pertinent issues and topics as the following: the concept of separate legal personality; abuse of the corporate form at municipal law; the role of Article 25 of the ICSID Convention; the approach to the nationality of natural persons; the approach to the jurisdictional concept of an ‘investment’; criteria used to connote corporate nationality; the concept of the commercial purpose of the corporate investor claimant; the concept and limits of the principle of abuse of right at international law; and the application of, and the relationship between, the four tenets of Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention: ordinary meaning, good faith, context, and object and purpose. The effectiveness of substantive criteria presently used to mitigate illegitimate or undesirable treaty shopping are examined and compared with the ‘purpose to exist’ test, and the prospective legal mechanisms that may be utilised to implement a substantive approach are canvassed in detail. This incomparable book brings coherence – and indeed a solution – to the debate about the attribution and use of nationality by corporations in the field of investment treaty law. It is a giant step towards legal certainty as to the need for, and the means by which, limits can be placed on investment treaty jurisdiction for corporate entities. It will be of immense interest to practitioners who advise on jurisdictional issues for clients (whether states or investors) and debate jurisdictional concepts and corporate nationality issues before international tribunals. It will also be a useful resource, and a challenge, to arbitrators regarding the extent to which investment treaty tribunals tolerate manipulation of corporate nationality and circumscribe jurisdiction to protect the legitimacy of the investment treaty system.

International Arbitration Law Library, Volume 63 [IALL-63] Many corporations engage in treaty shopping - or 'nationality planning' - to procure investment treaty protection by attainment of a nationality of convenience. This book is the first in-depth exploration of a substantive legal basis by which to assess the bona fides of a corporate investor's identity in a convenient jurisdiction: i.e., examination of the purpose for which a corporate exists in the ownership structure of the relevant investment. In a comprehensive review of the concept of treaty shopping, the author examines the degree to which manipulation of corporate nationality is consistent with the objects and purposes of the investment treaty regime, and analyses its effect on the legitimacy of investor-state dispute mechanisms. To evaluate a substantive test for a bona fide investor, the book looks to analogous areas of international law such as the law of diplomatic protection and double tax treaties, and reviews in detail the relevance in investment treaty law of such pertinent issues and topics as the following: the concept of separate legal personality; abuse of the corporate form at municipal law; the role of Article 25 of the ICSID Convention; the approach to the nationality of natural persons; the approach to the jurisdictional concept of an 'investment'; criteria used to connote corporate nationality; the concept of the commercial purpose of the corporate investor claimant; the concept and limits of the principle of abuse of right at international law; and the application of, and the relationship between, the four tenets of Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention: ordinary meaning, good faith, context, and object and purpose. The effectiveness of substantive criteria presently used to mitigate illegitimate or undesirable treaty shopping are examined and compared with the 'purpose to exist' test, and the prospective legal mechanisms that may be utilised to implement a substantive approach are canvassed in detail. This incomparable book brings coherence - and indeed a solution - to the debate about the attribution and use of nationality by corporations in the field of investment treaty law. It is a giant step towards legal certainty as to the need for, and the means by which, limits can be placed on investment treaty jurisdiction for corporate entities. It will be of immense interest to practitioners who advise on jurisdictional issues for clients (whether states or investors) and debate jurisdictional concepts and corporate nationality issues before international tribunals. It will also be a useful resource, and a challenge, to arbitrators regarding the extent to which investment treaty tribunals tolerate manipulation of corporate nationality and circumscribe jurisdiction to protect the legitimacy of the investment treaty system.

This monograph offers a detailed and distinctive analysis of corporate nationality under international investment law, covering the ICSID Convention and the investment treaty framework. It takes the reader back to the basics, threading through the concepts of jurisdiction, nationality, and corporate personality to give a clear context to the discussion of corporate nationality under international investment law, at a time when international investment is dominated by multinational business enterprises operating in a globalised economy. The book examines different understandings of corporate personality and nationality under a selection of jurisdictions and public international law. It also offers an in-depth analysis of approaches found in ICSID arbitral awards and in investment treaty practice, distilling the problematic areas and discussing the impacts of the areas of concern. It evaluates the techniques developed to address problems and puts forward suggestions for effective and balanced solutions to the questions of corporate nationality and personal scope of investment protection.

This is a practice-oriented guide, including text, commentary, tables and index, for anyone dealing with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The book argues that international investment law is a structured body of law based on uniform principles of investment protection.

Investment treaties are some of the most controversial but least understood instruments of global economic governance. Public interest in international investment arbitration is growing and some developed and developing countries are beginning to revisit their investment treaty policies. The Political Economy of the Investment Treaty Regime synthesises and advances the growing literature on this subject by integrating legal, economic, and political perspectives. Based on an analysis of the substantive and procedural rights conferred by investment treaties, it asks four basic questions. What are the costs and benefits of investment treaties for investors, states, and other stakeholders? Why did developed and developing countries sign the treaties? Why should private arbitrators be allowed to review public regulations passed by states? And what is the relationship between the investment treaty regime and the broader regime complex that governs international investment? Through a concise, but comprehensive, analysis, this book fills in some of the many "blind spots" of academics from different disciplines, and is the first port of call for lawyers, investors, policy-makers, and stakeholders trying to make sense of these critical instruments governing investor-state relations.