INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENT AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The growing concern on law on international investment has been one of the main emerging component in the international economic law since last few decades. One may easily conclude that the cornerstone of the international legal system is the Bilateral Investment Treaties. The development of Bilateral Investment Treaties can be said to have been done out of some emergency situations that can be traced back to the early 60s and 70s century. By that time, some ideological and political conflicts arose against developed and some of the developing countries with respect to the investment and its related issues. The most obvious solution would have been to bring developed countries and developing countries alike at the negotiation table and bring them to negotiate out all their differences, including their differences on investment. An attempt was taken at the 1976 Paris Conference in order to bring about some negotiations that had also been a historic compromise between North and South. But the attempt ultimately got failed; as no multilateral agreement could possibly be reached at that point of time. Hence, the developed countries resorted to the next best solution and that best next solution was to strengthen networks through BITs to reach at a best possible stage to reconcile the disputes concerning the investment. BIT is a legally binding agreement between two countries that establishes reciprocal protection and promotion of investment in both countries.