4 - Seeking a New Balance of Rights and Obligations in International Investment Law

Summary

The nature of developing countries’ resistance to the traditional BITs regime varies. Some states are withdrawing from existing agreements or related systems such as the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. Others call for changes in the scope of new BITs, and yet others promote radical alternatives. Recent BITs signed by emerging countries, and the Model BITs they have developed, offer a departure from the consensus of the 1990s and early 2000s, from the treaty coverage to the nature of the rights and obligations of host states and investors.The process for defining negotiating positions also has evolved to be more inclusive and more deliberative. This chapter focuses particularly on initiatives for investment regulation in South Africa, Brazil, India and China, and in Africa under the auspices of the SADC.