International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle.

• Author: Miles, Kate
• Position: Book review

Surya P Subedi, International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle (Hart Publishing, Oxford and Portland, Oregon 2008, ISBN 9781841138794, [pounds sterling]35.00, 244 pages)

There has been a raft of books recently brought out on the subject of international investment law. Not only does this indicate a surge in activity in this area of law, but also a marked increase in interest. Bilateral investment treaties have proliferated, free trade agreements now regularly include investor protection provisions, and international arbitration is habitually utilised to settle investment disputes. Recent arbitral awards in investor-state disputes have generated a great deal of controversy, largely because they can impact upon the policy space of host states. And it is this aspect of international investment law, together with the tension between investment rules and principles from other areas of international law, which provides an underlying theme for Subedi's International Investment Law: Reconciling Policy and Principle. This is also the key reason why this book stands out from many of the others currently addressing the topic of international investment law--it goes beyond stating what the law is and focuses on controversies occurring within this area of the law.

Subedi does not, however, ignore the basics of international investment law. He also combines his analysis of the controversial aspects of foreign investment protection law with more generalised discussion on the substantive principles and standards of treatment for investors. As such, the first chapter of the book covers the evolution of foreign investment law. It touches on important elements from the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as, the era of gunboat diplomacy, the attempts to assert the Calvo Doctrine, the development of investment principles within the doctrine of diplomatic protection of alien property, and the creation of the Hull Formula.

Chapters 2-4 then continue the focus on the substantive protections for investors and the historical modes of structuring international investment law. In chapter 2, Subedi examines the numerous attempts to create a multilateral legal framework for the protection of foreign investment and to regulate the activities of foreign investors. He covers a range of instruments, traversing the investor protection proposals for the Havana Charter of 1948, (1) the initiatives of the New International Economic Order, (2) the conclusion of...