The International Law Foundations of the International Investment Regime: A Critical Review and Assessment

The main thrust of this article is directed at examining contemporary international legal problems of natural resources development agreements (in particular the problems associated with the international law foundations of the FDI regime) with a view to exploring possible long term solutions. The discussion will include: (1) a critical inquiry into the source of the friction between private property rights and sovereign rights within the international investment regime and the persistent problems involving the prioritization of norms to govern FDI agreements; and (2) posit that the requirement for FDI protection ought not to foreclose the search for lasting solutions to the friction, not least the continued quest for a dedicated and specific regime of international economic law.