Kulick & Waibel: General International Law in International Investment Law - Introductory Chapter

Andreas Kulick (Univ. of Tübingen) & Michael Waibel (Univ. of Vienna - Law) have posted General International Law in International Investment Law - Introductory Chapter (in Commentary on General International Law in International Investment Law, Andreas Kulick & Michael Waibel eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

This forthcoming Commentary on General International Law in International Investment Law is the first volume that systematically and comprehensively brings together the various areas of general international law relevant to international investment law and views them from the latter’s perspective: How do investment tribunals use the rules of attribution, state succession, and treaty interpretation? Does their interpretation and/or application deviate from the practice of the International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’) or other international courts and tribunals, and if so, why? In 47 entries, the Commentary engages systematically with specific provisions and their interpretation and application and provides a comprehensive guide to all relevant case law and scholarship. It serves as a work of reference for scholars and practitioners on how investor-state tribunals apply specific rules of general international law, whether and why such interpretation and application deviates from overall general international law practice, and on how a certain rule that has yet to feature in investment arbitration could and should be interpreted and applied, considering judicial decisions on comparable rules.

This introductory chapter explains the Commentary’s aims and goals (A.), the specific semi-systematic format it employs (B.) and defines the concept of ‘general international law’ it relies on (C.). Section D provides an overview of the selected provisions on general international law included in the Commentary, pertaining to four areas: The law of treaties (D.I.); the law of international responsibility (D.II.); the law of state succession, sources and immunity (D.III.); and substantive and procedural aspects of general international law in international investment law (D.IV.). The conclusion identifies where investment tribunals align with, or deviate from, other international courts and tribunals, especially the ICJ, in the interpretation and application of general international law and where such investment arbitration case law inheres the potential to influence the overall practice and doctrine of general international law (E.).