Introduction

At first glance, the current state of the corruption defense in international investment law is well-settled. Corruption is a defense to expropriation. Disputes submitted for arbitration look to international conventions and domestic laws that universally chastise corruption. Arbitrators are accordingly willing to punish those that participate in such illicit conduct through the denial of a favorable award. But the actual operation of the corruption defense raises uncertainty with respect to how the defense is applied, uncertainty that often leads to inequitable results; between ...