Does the European Union Have New Clothes?: Understanding the EU's New Investment Treaty Model
17(5) Journal of World Investment & Trade 773–822 (2016)
50 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2016 Last revised: 2 Apr 2017
Date Written: October 11, 2016
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to critically analyse the methodology and impact of the investment chapter the European Union (EU) proposed for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It focusses on the innovations of an appellate body and the incorporation of a ‘right to regulate’-provision, as well as general exceptions that are very similar to Article XX of the GATT. In light of the development that these features have been replicated in the CETA and the EU-Vietnam FTA, it questions why the EU is changing the traditional form of investor-State arbitration in a preferential trade and investment agreement and whether the EU’s model is viable, and formulated on a robust design that will stand the test of time.
Keywords: Appeal Tribunal, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), ICS ID Convention, General Exceptions, Investment Court System, Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Right to Regulate, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
JEL Classification: P33, P45
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation