The definition of investment in international investment law: The future of good faith investments

This contribution proposes a reflection on the definition and scope of investment as central to re-aligning the system within the realities of transnational law and maintaining a system of investment protection in compliance with environmental and human rights norms. Taking into account the available language in the treaties, the mechanisms available for interpretation in the VCLT, and the discretion of arbitral panels, the tools may be available to recognize the foundational intention of investment protection and apply those intentions in a systemically coherent manner. Ultimately, the question lies in whether the ‘backlash’ and imbalance are merely a matter of application and interpretation, absorbed unnecessarily by guiding precedent further complicated by its conceptualization as a system.