Foreign investment protection and environmental obligations: A possible balance?

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to review possible areas of friction between international investment protection and international environmental law. To this end, it analyzes investment arbitration in the context of the fragmentation of public international law. It also reviews possible areas of friction between investment arbitration on the one hand and the regulatory powers of a State and its environmental commitments on the other. Finally, it is concluded that a balance between investment protection and the environmental obligations of the State is possible, under which foreign investment will be protected and the rights of investors guaranteed, as long as they carry out their activities in good faith and in compliance with the regulatory regime of the host State.