Features and trends of international investment agreements (IIAs)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has often been seen as a driver of countries’ development and prosperity. International organizations attempted for many years to facilitate and promote FDI flows by implementing guidance, measures and regulations but with controversial success. The chapter attempts to expose in a non-exhaustive way the different treaties and initiatives that have been developed over the last six decades. It presents the new trends and developments that came out recently regarding International Investment Agreements (IIAs). The new development and trends regarding IIAs will be exposed and discussed such as the right to regulate, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and arbitration institutions reform, the development allowing more flexibility to host states to act in order to safeguard the environment and avoid states facing ISDS claims based on their measures to combat climate changes, and the right to development. The chapter demonstrates that there is still room for improvements in IIAs and shows the difficulty for international organizations to find the right balance in regulating the contradictory relationship between states and foreign investors.