Introduction

A learned commentator has recently suggested that the focus of debate in international investment law has shifted from the standard of compensation to the definition of expropriation.[1] As a result of this shift, which has taken place in the context of the ongoing economic globalization and the global adoption of neo-liberal policies, the key issue in the field is no longer whether full or only "appropriate" compensation should be paid, but rather whether any expropriation has occurred in the first place. As the State increasingly withdraws from its role as an economic actor - ...