The WTO and International Investment Law: Converging Systems

摘要

In recent decades the classical distinction between trade and investment law has experienced a sudden blurring. One perceptible symbol of this blurring is the trend towards convergence in a number of adjudicative practices, not only in the form of parallel litigations under both regimes, as demonstrated in the disputes over softwood lumber, sugar/sweetener and tobaccos, but also the jurisprudential borrowing that occurs when treaty obligations previously considered in one arena fall to be inspected in the other. At the institutional front, the mounting quest for reform and remodeling of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system has primarily revolved around the modalities developed in trade adjudication, e.g. the add-on of the appeals mechanism and the creation of a permanent investment tribunal. Scholars and practitioners have noticed the convergence and started searching for the elements and reasons underpinning such phenomena, their theoretic foundation as well as empirical impact. Among others, the book The WTO and International Investment Law: Converging Systems authored by Juergen Kurtz is the first scholarship, at least to my knowledge, that addresses this issue in the most comprehensive manner with specific focus on the systemic implications.