1 - Introduction

Summary

This chapter sets the background of this study by discussing the development of the international investment agreements (IIAs) regime as a system to protect foreign investors, many of whom are transnational corporations (TNCs), the impact of TNCs’ activities on the host states, and the increasing criticism of the ’one-sidedness’ of the IIA regime, particularly the lack of a mechanism to hold investors accountable for their conduct and the call for ISDS reform to address this asymmetry. It explains that, against this background, this study examines ways to materialise investors’ responsibility within the current IIA-based dispute settlement mechanisms (investment arbitration and the Investment Court System (ICS)). This chapter also explains this study’s focus on corporate environmental responsibility and its inseparable link to human rights protection, the structure of the book, and methodology of this study.