Part I Fundamental Issues, Ch.3 Applicable Law

Subject(s):

Arbitrability — Choice of law — Customary international law — Host state law — Contract claims — Treaty claim — UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules — Pacta sunt servanda

This chapter analyses the development of the relationship between different systems and rules of law as the applicable law of an investment dispute. Section 1 identifies some aspects of the procedural framework in which arbitral tribunals find themselves, notably the jura novit curia principle. Section 2 presents an overview of different approaches to internationalizing international investment law applicable to claims brought by private investors on the basis of a contract with the host state. Section 3 discusses investment arbitration as a field in which the principle of party autonomy, although of indisputable importance, does not reign supreme. Section 4 and 5 analyse the law, or legal rules, applicable to contract claims and treaty claims, respectively.