International investment disputes arising from investment agreements are on the increase, at times involving tens of millions of dollars, according to data released today by UNCTAD. They cover a wide range of economic activities and various types of foreign involvement, and relate to key provisions in investment agreements.
The cumulative number of treaty-based cases brought before the World Bank Group´s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has risen from three at year-end 1994 to 106 this month. In addition, there are at least 54 cases (cumulative) outside ICSID, as compared to two at the end of 1994. The cumulative total of all known cases brought under bilateral, regional (e.g. NAFTA) or plurilateral (e.g. Energy Charter Treaty) agreements that contain investment clauses, or international investment agreements (IIAs), is now 160. (International investment disputes can also arise from contracts between investors and governments. A number of such disputes are, or have been, before ICSID but are not included in these data.) Well over half (92) of the 160 known claims were filed within the past three years. Virtually none of them was initiated by governments.In view of this recent surge, it is not surprising that the majority of investment treaty arbitration proceedings are still pending before tribunals. With so many known claims still pending, some uncertainty surrounds the concrete meaning to be ascribed to key treaty provisions. "All of this means that governments need to be very careful when negotiating investment treaties", advises Karl P. Sauvant, Director of UNCTAD´s Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development.
