The Politics of Investment Treaties in Latin America

by: Julia Calvert (Author)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: November 25, 2022

Language: English

Print Length: 272 pages

ISBN-10: 0198870892

ISBN-13: 9780198870890

Book Description

Inteational investment law is at a crossroads. Civil society groups, prominent think tanks, and inteational organisations are calling for widespread reform. At the centre of controversy are inteational investment agreements (IIAs) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Over 1,000 legal claims have been brought by foreign investors under IIAs since the mid-1990s, resulting in multi-million dollar fines imposed against govements for policies related to the environment, natural resource goveance, and access to basic services among other areas of public conce. Govements targeted by investor claims are pursuing a variety of reforms that range from the incremental to paradigm-shifting. These different responses raise important questions about the politics of infringement and reform: Why do govements infringe on IIAs despite the costs of doing so? Why do some govements heavily targeted by investor claims pursue more substantive reforms than others? This book provides a timely examination of infringement and reform in Latin America, where govements felt the sting of investor claims sooner and with greater frequency than in other regions. It focuses on Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador, countries that responded very differently to waves of investor claims. Based on interviews with govement officials, and inteational lawyers as well as an extensive analysis of legal transcripts, detailed case study chapters examine the conditions that prompted investor claims and the factors that inform country’s reform agendas. In doing so, the book illustrates the conditions under which IIAs constrain state behaviour and how different belief systems produce different responses to exteal pressures for treaty compliance.
Inteational investment law is at a crossroads. Civil society groups, prominent think tanks, and inteational organisations are calling for widespread reform. At the centre of controversy are inteational investment agreements (IIAs) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Over 1,000 legal claims have been brought by foreign investors under IIAs since the mid-1990s, resulting in multi-million dollar fines imposed against govements for policies related to the environment, natural resource goveance, and access to basic services among other areas of public conce. Govements targeted by investor claims are pursuing a variety of reforms that range from the incremental to paradigm-shifting. These different responses raise important questions about the politics of infringement and reform: Why do govements infringe on IIAs despite the costs of doing so? Why do some govements heavily targeted by investor claims pursue more substantive reforms than others? This book provides a timely examination of infringement and reform in Latin America, where govements felt the sting of investor claims sooner and with greater frequency than in other regions. It focuses on Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador, countries that responded very differently to waves of investor claims. Based on interviews with govement officials, and inteational lawyers as well as an extensive analysis of legal transcripts, detailed case study chapters examine the conditions that prompted investor claims and the factors that inform country’s reform agendas. In doing so, the book illustrates the conditions under which IIAs constrain state behaviour and how different belief systems produce different responses to exteal pressures for treaty compliance. Read more