5 The General Structure of Investment Treaties

Subject(s):

BITs (Bilateral Investment Treaties) — Treaties, scope (temporal and territorial) — Treaties, amendments and modification — Investor — Standards of treatment — Specific treaties — Expropriation — Exchange controls

This chapter discusses the basic structure of most modern investment treaties, which encompasses ten topics: treaty title and statement of purpose; definitions and scope of application; conditions for the entry of foreign investment and investors; general standards of treatment of foreign investments and investors; monetary transfers; expropriation and dispossession; operational and other conditions; losses from armed conflict or internal disorder; treaty exceptions, modifications, and terminations; and dispute settlement. Despite divergence among individual treaties, as a group they demonstrate many commonalities, including their coverage of similar issues and their use of equivalent or comparable legal concepts and vocabulary. It is these commonalities, despite individual differences, that are contributing to the creation of a global regime for international investment.