Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Early history of private equity wikipedia , lookup
Socially responsible investing wikipedia , lookup
Investment management wikipedia , lookup
Investment banking wikipedia , lookup
Environmental, social and corporate governance wikipedia , lookup
History of investment banking in the United States wikipedia , lookup
(My research is mostly about EU-China relations, but since there are no major differences in investment policies between EU countries and Switzerland, my research applies to the EU and Switzerland alike) Chinese–European Investment Regulation: Progress in a Fragmented Area of Law The dynamic investment exchange involving Europe and China raises many different, important questions: ? What are the issues for Switzerland and Europe if Chinese investors increase their presence on the European market? ? RESEARCH Why do Swiss banks complain about limited business opportunities on the Chinese market? ? In which forum are international rules for investment negotiated? Why are investors‘ intellectual property rights in China under threat? QUESTIONS ? Why do sweatshops and sub-standard production remain a problem in China? ? Which rules are applicable to these questions? What are the main shortcomings of and possible solutions offered by these rules? My research approach breaks down (some of) these questions into three main dimensions of fragmentation of law: First Dimension of Fragmentation: Proliferation 1 of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) 2 Second Dimension of Fragmentation: Investment Law v. other Branches of International Economic Law Worldwide, a non-transparent net of nearly 3000 bilateral investment treaties regulates (mostly) international investment protection. While trade matters are covered by WTO rules, investment rules are scattered over various agreements and stakeholders. In the EU-Chinese context, 25 such treaties co-exist, without any coordination or coherence. In the EU-Chinese context, an analysis of the coverage of intellectual property rules by trade rules (WTO/TRIPS) and investment rules (BITs) gives evidence of overlaps and inconsistencies. ANSWERS 1 Third Dimension of Fragmentation: Investment Law v. other Law, such as Human Rights or Environmental Law 3 International investment treaties today address mostly investment protection and do not feature exceptions to these protection rules for non-economic societal values (environment, social issues, workers‘ rights). For the EU-Chinese context, this means that investors are bound only by national laws, and their often lax enforcement. Overall, the dynamic investment exchange between Europe and China is not catered for by an appropriate legal framework. International rules on investment are fragmented, scattered and narrowly focused on investment protection. In more detail: European–Chinese BITs need to be better coordinated and streamlined. My research gives an indication as to how. On the matter of IP – crucial for the EU-Chinese context – the borderlines between TRIPS and BITs need to be better defined. My research offers one possible proposition as to how this could be done. 2 My research finds that the inclusion of clauses on non-economic values in EUChinese BITs is a difficult aspiration. It says why, and frames the emerging questions. 3 copyright: Bertram Boie [email protected] The Fragmentation of International Investment Law in three Dimensions 3rd Dimension: International Law … 2nd Dimension: International Economic Law Regional Trade Agreements Free Trade Agreements, Partnership and Cooperation Agreements, … „BITs +“ ? „WTO +“ 1st Dimension: Investment Treaties GATS „BITs Universe“ ? Human Rights Law • atomized into 2500 agreements • unique treatment and protection standards WTO Law TRIMS • unique dispute settlement system (~ 320 investor-state cases) ? • regional elements (NAFTA) Environmental Law • subject-specific elements (Energy Charter) TRIPS • topic-specific elements (insurance) ? ? … … General Public International Law copyright: Bertram Boie [email protected]