Part II Legal Framework: Courts, Statutes and Treaties, D The Architecture of Arbitration, 5 Convention Violations and Investment Claims

In theory, treaty commitments remain a foundation of international law, often expressed in the adage pacta sunt servanda: “agreements are to be kept”1 In practice, however, some treaty violations remain without realistic sanctions. Here as elsewhere, the divergence between theory and practice remains greater in practice than in theory. Mature legal thinking implicates more than one principle. The Convention requires that signatory nations give effect to the treaty. Article II and Article III contain mandatory language, stating that contracting states “shall...