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A LOOK AHEAD
IISD's investment team will soon be meeting with dozens of key government officials at our 11th Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators, which is hosted by Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest). These officials are responsible for safeguarding national interests during treaty negotiations. We look forward to welcoming friends and colleagues, many of whom have called upon us for advice and support advancing systemic reform.
The Economic Law and Policy Group has a full agenda for 2018, which builds on a particularly productive 2017. Recent highlights are below.
We welcome your feedback and the opportunity to engage with you further.
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder
Group Director, Economic Law and Policy Program
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SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS
Our sustainability standards team is launching a new poverty reduction project for marginalized farmers, foresters and fishermen in less-developed countries. The booming market for certified products can offer a significant price premium while also protecting the air, water, land and human rights.
Our goal is to help producers chose among more than 400 voluntary sustainability standards initiatives and then adjust their practices to comply with complex criteria.
For more information–and to read a recent commentary on enabling sustainable livelihoods in forestry–please visit our State of Sustainability Initiatives page.
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AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT
Our agricultural investment team continues to work closely with African parliamentarians on how best to manage the explosive growth of large-scale land deals and to promote responsible investment.
We are also active in Asia, where we have been invited by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to help draft guidelines for responsible agricultural investment.
We are partnering with Oxfam on an upcoming tool for promoting gender equity which was presented to the Economic Community of West African States Parliament at a recent conference. We are also advancing work on the most effective measures to end hunger.
For more information on IISD's work on food security and investment, please visit our SDG2 page.
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INVESTMENT LAW ADVISORY SERVICES
IISD's team of international investment lawyers provides advisory services to developing country governments seeking to design better deals and to avoid or better manage crippling arbitrations.
Our Annual Forum provides the opportunity to advance that work beyond resolving legal questions during treaty and contract negotiations. It has evolved into a community of government officials determined to work towards systemic reform and to safeguard the best interests of their developing nations.
Dozens of government officials from developing and emerging economies will be joining us in Kenya February 7-9, 2018.
Visit our new Annual Forum story page for the agenda, testimonials, a video and background on our reform efforts and the high stakes involved in investor–state dispute settlement.
For timely analysis on investment issues, please subscribe to our flagship journal Investment Treaty News and visit IISD's investment topic page.
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IS “MOONLIGHTING” A PROBLEM? THE ROLE OF ICJ JUDGES IN ISDS
At least seven current and thirteen former International Court of Justice (ICJ) judges worked as arbitrators during their tenure, our research has found. We identified 90 investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases in which sitting ICJ judges have worked–or are currently working–as arbitrators. Read the commentary and its accompanying press release for more information.
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WHEN CLIMATE LEADERS PROTECT DIRTY INVESTMENTS
In 2016, global spending on oil and gas projects was more than double the total spent on renewables. That imbalance requires restructuring current mechanisms, including existing trade and investment agreements, that govern energy investments. Read our op-ed published in 10 languages by Project Syndicate.
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INVESTMENT LAWS OF ASEAN COUNTRIES: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW
ASEAN countries investment laws vary widely in terms of substance and focus. None of the laws include the combination of vague investor rights commonly found in investment treaties, nor do they grant general consent to investor–state arbitration, Jonathan Bonnitcha writes in this comparative review.
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A RISKY TANGO? INVESTMENT FACILITATION AND THE WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN BUENOS AIRES
Investment facilitation—if structured right—could reshape global investment law frameworks for the better. But is the WTO well-suited for building a solution-oriented cooperative approach on investment facilitation, Martin Dietrich Brauch asks in this commentary.
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THE COMING EVOLUTION OF ROAD TRANSPORT
The transition to electric vehicles will cripple long-entrenched markets and create new ones; it will challenge economic and social systems to adapt at uncomfortable speeds and will be accompanied by significant shifts in geopolitical power and relations, Aaron Cosbey writes in this commentary.
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INVESTMENT TREATY NEWS
The latest issue of our flagship quarterly journal examines:
The journal is published in English, French and Spanish both online and as a PDF. Be sure to select your language preference when you subscribe.
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