‘International economic relations are front page news.’ In the aftermath of one of the severest economic crises of the ever-globalising world economy, Schwarzenberger's statement has forfeited nothing of its truth. In the process of managing economic globalisation and crises, international investment law plays an important role. This area of law has contributed many front page stories over the past decades and, most likely, will continue to do so in the future. While early international investment stories often had a post-colonial plot, the emergence of multinational corporations, post-Cold War economic liberalisation, the proliferation of international investment agreements and the establishment of a relatively privatised system of investment dispute settlement procedures have injected the system with new dynamics. Recurring themes of these stories are the perpetual quest for new markets, resources and production sites, as well as the ongoing competition between states to receive private capital flows to foster their economic development. If at the end of a story a conflict between a foreign investor and a host state arises, this may involve a large scale of possible actions, reaching from the technocratic fine-tuning of complex economic regulations to dark politico-economic intrigues or dramatic economic shifts with a whiff of revolution in the air.

In such investment conflicts, the guarantee to provide ‘fair and equitable treatment’ to foreign investors often takes centre stage. This is especially because fair and equitable treatment is enshrined in virtually all international investment agreements having increased enormously in number and importance.