Now available as an ebook for the first time, this 2000 title in the Melland Schill Studies in International Law series is an examination of key issues concerning the treatment of foreign investment and the taxation of investors. It looks at some of the challenges which globalization has thrown up for the international community from a legal perspective and sets developments alongside more traditional approaches. Particular attention is paid to the needs and aspirations of developing countries and the implications for them of free trade orthodoxy. After outlining the established framework of laws concerning investment protection and taxation, the author looks at experiences in the European Union and the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement and at a range of disputes and legal developments to assess whether international legal regimes are responding adequately to meet the needs of states and investors alike. OECD initiatives on taxation and the aborted Multilateral Agreement on Investment negotiations are examined in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreements.

Over the past twenty years, foreign direct investments have spurred widespread liberalization of the foreign direct investment (FDI) regulatory framework. By opening up to foreign investors and encouraging FDI, which could result in increased capital and market access, many countries have improved the operational conditions for foreign affiliates and strengthened standards of treatment and protection. By assuring investors that their investment will be legally protected with closed bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and double taxation treaties (DTTs), this in turn creates greater interest in FDI.

The law of foreign investment is at a crossroads. In the wake of an unprecedented global financial crisis and a sharp surge of investment arbitration cases, states around the world are reflecting on the pros and cons of the current liberal investment regime and exploring new ways ahead. This book brings together leading investment lawyers from more than 20 main jurisdictions of the world to tackle the challenge of producing a first comparative study of foreign investment law. Based on the General and National Reports presented at the 'Protection of Foreign Investment' Session at the 18th International Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law (Washington DC, July 2010), the book is a unique resource for investment lawyers. Part I of the book presents a comparative overview of key aspects of foreign investment protection in the world today, including admission, investment contracts, treatment standards, tax regime and incentives, performance requirement, property and expropriation, monetary transfer and dispute settlement. Part II presents in-depth and detailed accounts of the investment laws of more than 20 jurisdictions, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey, the UK and the USA. The book will be an invaluable guide to legal and business communities with an interest in the law and practice of foreign investment in the world in general and in these jurisdictions in particular.

The subject of this series of reports is the differences in tax treatment between a domestic subsidiary corporation and a domestic branch of a non-resident of foreign enterprise.

Increasingly, transnational corporations, developed countries and private actors are broadening the boundaries of their investments into new territories, in search of a higher return on capital. This growth in direct foreign investment involves serious concerns for both the investor and host state. Various exponents of international civil society and non-governmental organisations persuasively claim that such growth in foreign investments constitutes potential and serious hazards both to the environment and the fundamental rights and freedoms of local populations. This book explores from an international law perspective the complex relationship between foreign investments and common concerns, i.e. values that do not coincide, or do not necessarily coincide, with the interests of the investor and of the host state. It pays particular attention to the role of the main international development banks in reconciling the needs of foreign investors with the protection of common concerns, such as the environment, human rights and labour rights. Among its collection of essays, the volume asks how much "regulatory space" investment law leaves; whether international investment law is an effective means of balancing contrasting interests, and whether investment arbitration currently constitutes a mechanism of global governance. In collecting the outlooks of various experts in human rights, environmental and international economic law, this book breaks new ground in exploring how attention to its legal aspects may help in navigating the relationship between foreign investment and common concerns. In doing so, the book provides valuable insights into the substantive issues and institutional aspects of international investment law.

The author examines different techniques adopted by States for attracting foreign investment and for ensuring that foreign investment serves their economic objectives.