Part I General Framework and Fundamental Observations, 1 Introduction

1.01 The evolution of investment arbitration in the past three decades has been nothing short of astonishing. Companies and individuals with investments abroad are entitled to sue host States before international tribunals, not only when they have expressly agreed on an arbitral clause in a contract, but also when a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) protects their interests and provides for arbitration. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is the institution that has most benefitted from this trend. Indeed, only 20 per cent of the...