Since 2001, ITN has offered news, analysis and opinions on international investment law and its implications for sustainable development. The service began as a list-serve where information and views were shared among members, before becoming an electronic newsletter produced by a small editorial team. In its present form, ITN combines these functions by serving as a Web-based platform for discussion and debate, as well as providing regular journalistic reporting on developments and trends in international investment law.
Investment law and public policy
Unlike the World Trade Organization (WTO) which consolidates multiple trade agreements and a dispute settlement system under one roof, the global rules governing investment activity are highly-dispersed and, as a consequence, under-scrutinized. Thousands of bilateral investment treaties have been signed between countries in an effort to protect investment moving between the two signatory countries.
Often, these treaties provide for international arbitration as a method for resolving disputes between an investor and its host state. Beginning in the late 1990s, investor lawsuits under bilateral treaties and free-trade agreements (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA) grabbed headlines as companies invoked their international treaty rights in an effort to challenge actions taken by their host governments.
Investment treaty lawsuits cases may have been launched by businesses following egregious abuse or mistreatment at the hands of their host governments; in other cases, however, investors have taken more controversial steps to challenge health, environmental, human rights or tax measures. The ensuing international arbitrations are rarely reported in the mainstream media, but may harbour significant implications for government finances and policy-making.
About the publisher
ITN is published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a non-profit research institute with offices in Canada, Switzerland and the United States. The Institute promotes policy options which support sustainable development—including in the area of international investment governance. For more information about the IISD’s Foreign Investment for Sustainable Development Programme, click here.
Funders
ITN receives funding from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (http://www.sdc.admin.ch/) and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (http://www.mott.org/). The views expressed in ITN do not necessarily reflect those of ITN’s funders, nor should they be attributed to them.
Contributors
Damon Vis-Dunbar
Editor
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Damon now works in the IISD-Geneva office. Damon completed his Masters in Journalism (MJ) at Carleton University with a speciality in business journalism. He has produced stories for several newspapers and broadcasters, including CBC television in Ottawa. Damon holds a BA from Simon Fraser University with a major in Communications and a minor in English Literature. As a member of SFU's NewsWatch Canada, Damon conducted research on media ownership and its effect on content.
Fernando Cabrera
Fernando is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario’s law school, where his studies concentrated on international law. He also spent a semester on exchange at ESADE University in Barcelona where he focused on international trade law. After law school, Fernando worked in the field of immigration and refugee law for a law firm in Toronto, Ontario.
Suzy H. Nikiema
Originally from Burkina Faso, Suzy has a Bachelor in Law from Ouagadougou University (Burkina Faso) and also holds a Master degree in Advanced Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva) with a specialization in international law. She is currently pursuing her PhD in International Investment Law with the same Institute and works as a consultant with international organizations. Her studies and researches address international investment law, international arbitration, and environmental protection issues.
Elizabeth Whitsitt
Elizabeth Whitsitt graduated from the University of Calgary's law school in 2004 and was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 2005. After working as an associate in commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP for two years, Elizabeth pursued further studies at New York University and obtained an L.L.M. in international legal studies in 2007. Currently, Elizabeth teaches international trade law as a sessional instructor at the University of Calgary and plans on commencing her Ph.D. in law this fall.