2 Situations Where Tribunals can Apply GPL Depending on the Applicable Law to Settle a Dispute

Subject(s):

General principles of international law — Arbitral tribunals — BITs (Bilateral Investment Treaties) — Arbitration

This chapter examines the legal grounds based on which a tribunal can apply general principles of law (GPL), depending on what applicable law is used to settle a dispute. International law should play an important role in all investor–State arbitration cases. In this context, any tribunal applying international law will necessarily have to take into account GPL. This is simply because GPL is one of the three formal sources of international law. In any event, there are good reasons to argue, at least in the context of State contracts and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), that GPL should be applied to all investment disputes independently of the question of the choice of law made by the parties.