In Pursuit of an International Investment Court. Recently Negotiated Investment Chapters in EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements in Comparative Perspective
Abstract
The study compares the revised and signed text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EUVFTA) and the EU Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) in respect of important procedural aspects relating to investor State dispute settlement. The findings are juxtaposed to the procedural rules governing the preliminary reference procedure and direct action (action for annulment) before the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as the individual application before the European Court of Human Rights. In doing so, it provides a tool and manual to evaluate the EU’s todays and future progress in reforming the international investment law regime. By outlining key features of the procedural frameworks governing two international courts, some ‘tried and tested’ concepts as source of inspiration for the possible design of a ‘multilateral investment court’ might be found.