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The Influence of EU Common Investment Policy on the System of International Investment Law
Svoboda, Ondřej ; Lipovský, Milan (referee)
1 The Influence of EU Common Investment Policy on the System of International Investment Law Abstract Extending exclusive European Union (EU) competence to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Lisbon Treaty has had profound implications. The EU began to develop its own investment policy, including negotiating either international investment agreements or comprehensive trade and investment agreements with third parties. Taking into account the magnitude of the EU economy and the fact that EU Member States have concluded almost 1 400 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) out of roughly 3 300 in force worldwide, the potential of European influence over the system of international investment, based principally on BITs, is enormous. The aim of this dissertation is to assess how and in which way the new EU competence changes the system. The EU investment policy has developed a specific approach towards investment protection and investment dispute mechanism which does not envision content declared at its beginning. According to initial documents such as the European Commission's Communication Towards a comprehensive European international investment policy, the Union should have followed the available best practices of the Member States. Nevertheless, during the first bilateral negotiations with Canada and...
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Arbitration Clauses in Bilateral Investment Treaties and their (in)compatibility with EU law
Galis, Daniel ; Navrátil, Petr (advisor) ; Vondráčková, Aneta (referee)
Arbitration Clauses in Bilateral Investment Treaties and their (in)compatibility with EU law Abstract The objective of this Master's Thesis is to critically analyse the Achmea judgment and its repercussions for the compatibility of arbitration clauses in the intra-EU BITs with the EU law. In the first part, the thesis therefore focuses on the judgment itself and identifies the main legal grounds the Court relied upon and contrasts them with the relevant case-law and doctrinal opinions. Firstly, the principle of the autonomy of the EU law is introduced and the applicability of the Article 344 TFEU on the investment arbitration is discussed. Then, it is considered whether an arbitral tribunal established under an intra-EU BIT may be a tribunal within the meaning of the Article 267 TFEU and whether subsequent review of the award by national court may be sufficient to guarantee its compliance with the EU law. Particularly, the thesis focuses on the Court's distinction between the commercial and investment arbitral tribunals. The first part ends with an analysis of the principle of the mutual trust and its role in the Achmea judgment. The second part of the thesis then deals with the development after the judgment. Following a brief introduction into the political shift against the intra-EU BITs which occurred...
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Agreements on the protection of investments between the EU and China
Zamrazil, Jakub ; Balaš, Vladimír (advisor) ; Šturma, Pavel (referee)
The purpose of my thesis is to analyse Bilateral Investment Treaties between the EU and China. The question that passes through the entire work is whether there is indeed a homogeneous relationship in FDI between the EU and China as a whole, or whether the practice is rather different relationship with the EU members with some common and different elements. I have chosen the theme of this thesis because I am interested in investment relations, and China is a very attractive destination for the investment, that has from a European point of view its specific features. The thesis is composed of six chapters. In the chapter one I decided to take historical approach by researching the needs and motivations that inspired and influenced the emergence of the BIT program between the EU and China. From a historical approach to the development of FDI in China is obvious that the policy of FDI in China follows the national interests of China. From the beginning FDI was an unwanted tool for China that did not correspond with national policy, however it provided the necessary capital. Over time, China has changed its approach from receiving investment indiscriminately into the consistent direction of flow of FDI into desired sectors. The second chapter provides an analytical view of the current legal framework...
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Host-State Counterclaims in Investment Arbitration: Holding Investors Accountable for Human Rights Violations
Klímová, Nikola ; Balaš, Vladimír (advisor) ; Šturma, Pavel (referee)
1 Abstract Host-State Counterclaims in Investment Arbitration: Holding Investors Accountable for Human Rights Violations International investment arbitration has been long criticized for its structural bias against host states in favour of the defence of the interests of investors. The one-way character of this dispute settlement mechanism has been, however, recently challenged in the light of numerous cases in which arbitrators were confronted with counterclaims of host states, requesting damages for investors' illegal conduct. To successfully assert counterclaims in arbitral proceedings, host states have to deal with a series of difficulties. The submission of a dispute to an arbitral tribunal first requires consent both on the part of an investor and a host state. Its scope is determined by the language of dispute settlement provisions in international investment agreements. While these instruments generally accept a wide range of investors' claims related to their investments, counterclaims of host states fall within the jurisdiction of tribunals only if the international investment agreements contain a dispute settlement clause with broad wording. The second condition which concerns the admissibility of host states' counterclaims is their close connection with the primary claims advanced by investors....
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Legal Framework of Protection of Foreign Direct Investment under Bilateral Investment Treaties and European Law
Moškvan, Dominik ; Svoboda, Pavel (advisor) ; Pítrová, Lenka (referee)
This thesis aims to analyse alleged incompatibility of bilateral investment treaties signed between the Member States of the European Union with the European Union law and its impact on the investment environment of the Union. Bilateral investment treaties are found to be incompatible with EU law. First, it is the provision allowing for dispute settlement in the form of arbitration, thereby excluding the case from EU judicial review and infringing the primacy and autonomy of EU law. Second, it is the preferential treatment of investors given only to an investor from a state with a concluded BIT conflicts the non-discrimination principle. Preferential treatment given in BITs should be either unilaterally extended, or dismissed for all investors. Unless rescinded, BITs remain valid. Investment environment of the European Union might be exposed to an increased risk of legal uncertainty. This is due to the existence of dichotomy of investment arbitration and national courts, which has not allowed for a binding interpretation of EU law since arbitration courts are not considered to be a court of a Member States with respect to the meaning of Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Concurrence of the two parallel systems of dispute resolution does not allow for a prompt...
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International Investment Agreements and European Union Law
Fecák, Tomáš
The relationship between international investment agreements and EU law have attracted a lot of attention in past few years. The aim of this thesis is to bring a detailed analysis of various aspects of this complicated relationship. In attainment of this aim it proceeds in following steps. After a short introduction (Chapter I.), Chapter II. contains a brief overview of typical content of bilateral investment treaties as well as a more detailed analysis of relevant EU law rules concerning foreign investment, enabling subsequent comparison of both sets of rules. Chapter III. deals with investment agreements to be concluded by the EU, in particular with questions of external competence for foreign investment, responsibility for breaches of investment agreements concluded by the EU and the future shape of EU investment policy. The status of existing bilateral investment treaties concluded between EU member states and third countries is analyzed in Chapter IV. Chapter V. tackles various issues related to investment treaties concluded between member states (so called intra-EU BITs).
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Investment Policy of the European Union - protection of foreign direct investment
Štamberk, David ; Šmejkal, Václav (referee)
Investment Policy of the European Union - protection of foreign direct investment Abstract One of the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty is the explicit inclusion of foreign direct investment and its protection in the common commercial policy of the European Union. This is one of the areas of exclusive competence of the EU. The European Union has subsequently stated negotiating bilateral agreements governing, inter alia, investment issues. However, it has not been spared from controversy and negative publicity that has been accompanying especially the TTIP and the CETA. This work aims to analyse the investment policy of the EU and mutual interaction of its institutions with the Member States and third parties. After general introduction to the topic of international investment law and EU law (chapters II. and III.), it is devoted to the issue of protection of foreign investment in the internal market. Its regime is then compared with the BIT regime (chapter IV.). Attention is then focussed towards the EU's external relations in the field of investment protection. Its competence is subjected to further analysis (chapter V.) and current results of efforts of the Commission and the EU as such are also discussed (chapter VI.). It is so in the light of possible impacts of foreign investment in terms of...
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The Influence of EU Common Investment Policy on the System of International Investment Law
Svoboda, Ondřej ; Balaš, Vladimír (advisor) ; Šturma, Pavel (referee) ; Chovancová, Katarína (referee)
1 The Influence of EU Common Investment Policy on the System of International Investment Law Abstract Extending exclusive European Union (EU) competence to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Lisbon Treaty has had profound implications. The EU began to develop its own investment policy, including negotiating either international investment agreements or comprehensive trade and investment agreements with third parties. Taking into account the magnitude of the EU economy and the fact that EU Member States have concluded almost 1 400 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) out of roughly 3 300 in force worldwide, the potential of European influence over the system of international investment, based principally on BITs, is enormous. The aim of this dissertation is to assess how and in which way the new EU competence changes the system. The EU investment policy has developed a specific approach towards investment protection and investment dispute mechanism which does not envision content declared at its beginning. According to initial documents such as the European Commission's Communication Towards a comprehensive European international investment policy, the Union should have followed the available best practices of the Member States. Nevertheless, during the first bilateral negotiations with Canada and...
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Investment Policy of the European Union - protection of foreign direct investment
Štamberk, David ; Šmejkal, Václav (referee)
Investment Policy of the European Union - protection of foreign direct investment Abstract One of the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty is the explicit inclusion of foreign direct investment and its protection in the common commercial policy of the European Union. This is one of the areas of exclusive competence of the EU. The European Union has subsequently stated negotiating bilateral agreements governing, inter alia, investment issues. However, it has not been spared from controversy and negative publicity that has been accompanying especially the TTIP and the CETA. This work aims to analyse the investment policy of the EU and mutual interaction of its institutions with the Member States and third parties. After general introduction to the topic of international investment law and EU law (chapters II. and III.), it is devoted to the issue of protection of foreign investment in the internal market. Its regime is then compared with the BIT regime (chapter IV.). Attention is then focussed towards the EU's external relations in the field of investment protection. Its competence is subjected to further analysis (chapter V.) and current results of efforts of the Commission and the EU as such are also discussed (chapter VI.). It is so in the light of possible impacts of foreign investment in terms of...
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Host-State Counterclaims in Investment Arbitration: Holding Investors Accountable for Human Rights Violations
Klímová, Nikola ; Balaš, Vladimír (advisor) ; Šturma, Pavel (referee)
1 Abstract Host-State Counterclaims in Investment Arbitration: Holding Investors Accountable for Human Rights Violations International investment arbitration has been long criticized for its structural bias against host states in favour of the defence of the interests of investors. The one-way character of this dispute settlement mechanism has been, however, recently challenged in the light of numerous cases in which arbitrators were confronted with counterclaims of host states, requesting damages for investors' illegal conduct. To successfully assert counterclaims in arbitral proceedings, host states have to deal with a series of difficulties. The submission of a dispute to an arbitral tribunal first requires consent both on the part of an investor and a host state. Its scope is determined by the language of dispute settlement provisions in international investment agreements. While these instruments generally accept a wide range of investors' claims related to their investments, counterclaims of host states fall within the jurisdiction of tribunals only if the international investment agreements contain a dispute settlement clause with broad wording. The second condition which concerns the admissibility of host states' counterclaims is their close connection with the primary claims advanced by investors....
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