Part of a series of short courses on key international economic issues to be held in 2009 for delegates and staff from permanent missions in Geneva.

The aim is to give permanent missions an opportunity to follow a shorter, more focused version of the regional three-week course on key issues on the international economic agenda.

Investor-State dispute settlement

International Investment Agreements (IIAs) have the potential to contribute to economic and social development, including by enhancing FDI flows and the attendant benefits.

Over the years, however, investors have increasingly resorted to the dispute settlement mechanisms included in IIAs, leading to a growing number of treaty-based investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases being brought to international arbitration.

This raises considerable challenges for host countries, including cost-related challenges, challenges regarding a country´s reputation as an attractive FDI destination, and capacity-related challenges.

In order to maximize the benefits of IIAs while minimizing the attendant risks, it is of utmost importance that host countries have the capacity to manage - and, to the extent possible, avoid - such ISDS proceedings.

The course aims at offering an initial overview of the key substantive and procedural issues that developing countries face in this context.

Delivered by: Division on Investment and Enterprise