Introduction

It has become fashionable, in some quarters, to attack the present worldwide system of investment protection as represented by the many thousands of bilateral investment treaties ("BITS") existing worldwide. Critics of these BlTs - who are often similarly hostile to investor-state arbitration - sometimes claim that a host state's recognition of the rights of foreign investors is prejudicial to human rights in the host state. For the most part, this is a policy debate - as evident, for example, from the recent debate within the U.S. concerning whether the US Model BIT needs to be amended ...