Introduction

This introductory article sets the context for subsequent articles in this special issue and introduces the notion of failed and distressed projects and the concept of the global legal paradigm. The 1990s saw an explosive growth of private infrastructure projects in emerging markets. However, a number of these projects were cancelled (failed projects) and a large number of others went through major renegotiations (distressed projects). While significant research and analysis have been done to look at these failures from administrative and public policy angles, there is little ...