The International Legal Personality of Multinational Enterprises: Treaty, Custom and the Governance Gap
Global Jurist, Vol. 10, No. 1, Article 9, 2010
Posted: 8 Feb 2010 Last revised: 12 Jul 2010
Date Written: February 3, 2010
Abstract
This article argues that multinational enterprises (MNEs) have state-granted international legal personality. MNEs are now granted substantive and procedural rights under international investment treaties, ratified by 162 states. Under international investment law, MNEs are empowered as centrally-controlled agents, permitted to launch indirect investment claims from various points along their ownership networks in investment arbitration. As entities with legal personality, MNEs hold the customary duties of private persons under international law, including the duty not to commit slavery, among others. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of MNE legal personality to the amelioration of the MNE governance gap.
Keywords: Multinational Enterprises, Investment Arbitration, Legal Personality
JEL Classification: K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation