Introduction

An important difference between international trade law and international investment law is the presence in the former, but not usually in the latter, of general exception provisions to facilitate the member state pursuing certain domestic policies. This is not merely a technical distinction, but reflects the different philosophical basis of the GATT/WTO regime of 'embedded liberalism' as opposed to the 'laissez-faire liberalism' of most bilateral investment treaties. This presentation examines how investment treaty tribunals have dealt with conflicts between investor ...