5 Financial Products as Investments under Bilateral Investment Treaties and Other Multilateral Instruments with Consents to Arbitration

Subject(s):

Customer obligations and foreign law — Credit — Debt — Investment business — Market abuse

This chapter discusses the status of financial products as qualifying investments under bilateral and multilateral treaties that contain protections for foreign investment, including the signatory States' consent to submit investor-State disputes to international arbitration. It first describes how an investor and a State consent to proceed to arbitration under such a treaty. Second, it discusses how a qualifying investment is generally defined for purposes of investor-State treaty arbitration. Third, it addresses significant treaty and case law developments relating specifically to financial products — such as loan agreements, sovereign bonds, and derivatives — as qualifying investments. These developments shed light on the key questions of whether an investment exists; whether the investment was made in the territory of the host State; and whether the investment was made by the claimant investor. The chapter concludes with comments on the trend favouring inclusion of financial instruments within the definition of investment.