1887

OECD Working Papers on International Investment

Selected studies on international investment and investment policy prepared for use within the OECD. They address such issues as investment agreements, dispute settlement, fair and equitable treatment, most favored nation treatment, and corruption.

English

Temporal Validity of International Investment Agreements

A Large Sample Survey of Treaty Provisions

International investment agreements (IIAs) almost universally define their temporal validity and thus set conditions for States’ exit from these treaties.

This study presents the results of the survey of language that determines the temporal validity of 2,061 bilateral investment agreements that the 55 economies participating in the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Roundtables have concluded with any other economy.

The paper summarises in its first part past and current treaty practice in this regard: how do States design the parameters that define the temporal validity of their treaties and the duration of the obligations contained therein? How has this design evolved over time? Do different kinds of IIAs take different approaches to this matter? Have individual States developed distinct practices or policies?

The second part of the paper presents key findings that result from the analysis of treaty practice in a large number of agreements. It highlights characteristics of the provisions on temporal validity employed in IIAs; emphasises the collective engagement that results from the clauses in IIAs and the consequences of country-specific practice; and suggests questions on intriguing policy choices that a large comparative study reveals.

English

Keywords: international investment, foreign investment, international investment agreements, international investment law, investment treaties, comparative law, bilateral investment treaty, investment law
JEL: F21: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements; F23: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / Multinational Firms; International Business; P45: Economic Systems / Other Economic Systems / Other Economic Systems: International Trade, Finance, Investment and Aid; N40: Economic History / Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation / Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: General, International, or Comparative; F53: International Economics / International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy / International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations; K41: Law and Economics / Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior / Litigation Process; K33: Law and Economics / Other Substantive Areas of Law / International Law; F55: International Economics / International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy / International Institutional Arrangements
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error