Outlines the basic purpose and regulatory structure of international investment law and discusses the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in international investment regulation and in sustainable development. Provides a summary of on-going initiatives to modernise international investment law (specifically also investor-state arbitration). Concludes with a discussion of international, European and unilateral initiatives to regulate corporate responsibility in business activities abroad (including the Swiss popular initiative for responsible business). Goes together with mandatory reading and the following questions to be addressed in class:
What are relevant commitments for sustainable development a developing country might want to include in its BIT with an industrialised economy?
What are the regulatory pitfalls in the current approaches to regulating corporate responsibility in business activities abroad?