This book explores the complexities arising at the intersection of international law, state sovereignty, and global commerce. The core focus is on how international arbitration can be employed to resolve disputes stemming from the national security screening of foreign direct investment (FDI). The flow of FDI has been integral to global economic development, yet it has increasingly attracted scrutiny from national governments. This scrutiny has intensified due to geopolitical tensions and concerns over the control of critical infrastructure and sensitive technologies. As states aim to balance the economic benefits of FDI with the need to protect national security, conflicts between state actions and international investment agreements have grown more complex. International arbitration, particularly through investorstate dispute settlement (ISDS), represents a crucial forum for resolving these disputes.
The book addresses the challenge of upholding international treaties while respecting the legitimate security concerns of states. It provides a detailed examination of how ISDS mechanisms can address these disputes, the legal principles involved, and the broader implications for international law and global investment governance. The study contributes to the ongoing discourse on harmonizing national security needs with the standards of protection promised under international investment law. It critically analyzes the role of arbitration in resolving conflicts arising from national security screenings, offering insights into how arbitral tribunals balance state sovereignty with investor protection. Additionally, it explores potential improvements to the arbitration process to enhance its fairness and efficiency in handling these high-stakes disputes.
Chapter 1: Introduction.
Chapter: 2 Investment Treaties and the
Challenge of Weaponized Investments.
Chapter 3: National Security as Subject
Matter of Investment Arbitration.
Chapter 4: Investment Screening and
Jurisdiction Under Investment Treaties.
Chapter 5: National Security-Related
Defences and Treaty Exceptions Applied to Investment Screening.
Chapter 6:
Investment Screening and the Right to Regulate Investments.
Chapter 7:
Conclusion.
Dr. Jens Hillebrand Pohl, FRGS, is President and Secretary-General of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society and Editor-in-Chief of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Monitor (HeGeMon). His work focuses on international economic law, economic security, and geoeconomics.
His professional experience spans legal practice, multilateral diplomacy, and academic research. After studying law at the universities of Stockholm and Uppsala, he served as a judicial clerk at the Stockholm High Court and later practiced law in Stockholm and New York, including at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he worked on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. He subsequently advised on the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism and has practiced and argued cases before U.S. federal courts in New York and before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. He has held research and teaching positions at Maastricht University, the United Nations University, and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, and has been a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law and the World Trade Institute. He is also Series Editor-in-Chief of Springer Studies in Law & Geoeconomics.
Dr. Pohl holds a Ph.D. in Law from Maastricht University, an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, and an M.Sc. in Economics and Business from the Stockholm School of Economics. He is admitted to legal practice in New York, England and Wales, and Ireland.
