| Unit name | International Investment Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0152 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Paine |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
In the last two decades, international investment law has risen from obscurity to become one of the most dynamic and controversial fields of international law. International investment law primarily regulates the relationship between foreign investors (and their investments) and States receiving foreign investment. As well as giving rise to complex (and often novel) legal issues, international investment law raises policy issues concerning globalisation, the protection of private property, the appropriate role of the State, and the interests of local communities affected by foreign investment activities. The area is, in many ways, a unique hybrid, drawing on elements of international law, commercial law and public law.
This unit will offer a comprehensive and critical introduction to international investment law. The focus will be on investment treaties, which are the most common jurisdictional basis for investor-State arbitration, although some consideration will be given to investor-State contracts or foreign investment laws at the national level. The unit will consider the nature of investment protection regime by examining its history, and the purported economic and political rationales informing the regime’s creation and development. Substantive standards of investment protection, such as fair and equitable treatment, non-discrimination and rules regarding expropriation, will be subject to detailed scrutiny. Considerable attention will be devoted to the process of investor-State dispute settlement, enabling students to form their own views on the validity of the popular critique of ‘secret courts’. This part of the course will focus on the framework of international arbitration, and will examine questions of jurisdiction and admissibility, arbitral procedure, and challenges to and enforcement of arbitral awards. Throughout the course, attention will be paid to the tensions between investment protection and a State’s sovereign right to regulate in the public interest. This theme emerges most prominently in the apparent conflicts between investment law and human rights or environmental law. Students will be expected to engage with challenges to the legitimacy of the international investment regime and ongoing attempts to reform it. The course will involve sustained study of arbitral decisions, and students will also be exposed to the wide variety of normative perspectives advanced by commentators in this field.
The list of examinable topics will typically include: history and political economy of investment law, sources of investment law, definition of investors and investments, key substantive standards (including fair and equitable treatment, expropriation, and national treatment), defences and exceptions, dispute settlement institutions and process, jurisdiction and admissibility, challenges to and enforcement of awards, and backlash and legitimacy challenges.
The main learning outcome of this unit is to equip students with a clear understanding of the international legal regime governing the protection and regulation of foreign investment. Students will also learn about the ongoing attempts to reform the international investment regime. Students will be able to form and justify their own views on key controversies that have arisen in relation to this area of law, including its policy implications. By the end of the unit, students should be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities
Summative: 2 x coursework assignments (word length will typically be 3,000 words). Both coursework assignments will address ILOs 1 - 5.
Formative: 1 x formative assignment (word length will typically be 1,500 words).
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0152).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
