Call for Submissions: Aligning Human Rights and Investment Protection

Transnational Dispute Management has issued a call for submissions for a TDM special issue on "Aligning Human Rights and Investment Protection." Here's the call:

We hereby announce a forthcoming TDM special issue on "Aligning Human Rights and Investment Protection". Prof. Dr. Ursula Kriebaum (University of Vienna) will be editing this special issue which will analyse the possibility of courts and tribunals operating in the fields of human rights and international investment protection to take into account the concerns of the other field of law.

It is difficult to generalize the effects of investment on the enjoyment of human rights of the population of the host State. It is today acknowledged that investment is capable of generating economic growth, reducing poverty, increasing demand for the rule of law and contributing to the realization of human rights. For many countries the impact of private foreign investment flows on development is more significant than development aid by States and international Organizations. On the other hand, a number of human rights violations related to foreign investment have arisen and are likely to arise in the future.

Host States can intervene in investment operations to stop human rights abuses of an investor. But such measures may at the same time be an interference with the investor's rights protected under investment treaties. In such a situation the investor can bring a case before an investment tribunal. On the other hand host States can also remain passive and tolerate human rights abuses by investors. In such a situation an investment tribunal will not learn about the case, but the victims of the human rights violations may bring the case before a human rights court or treaty supervisory body.

This special issue will shed light on the interaction between human rights law and international investment law.

Possible topics may include:

• Are human rights part of the applicable law in investment arbitration cases?
• The approach of investment tribunals confronted with human rights sensitive cases.
• Investors' human rights before investment tribunals.
• Third party participation before investment tribunals and human rights courts.
• Interim measures before investment tribunals and human rights courts: a comparative approach.
• Human rights abuses linked to investments (not necessarily foreign) before human rights courts.
• Investor protection by human rights courts.
• The form and amount of compensation granted by human rights courts to victims of human rights abuses by investors.
• Economic, social and cultural rights and foreign investment.
• Issues of potential conflicts (whether real or perceived) between international investment law/tribunals and international human rights law/tribunals.
• The interaction between national courts, human rights courts and investment tribunals.

We hereby invite all those with an interest in the subject to contribute articles or notes on one or several of the above topics or any other relevant issue. Publication is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012. Proposals for papers should be submitted to the editor by 1 June 2012.