A Substantive principles

The following remarks endeavour to analyse further the principles of fair and equitable treatment and the way in which arbitral tribunals concretise and balance these principles. Within this analysis, a general distinction is made between principles addressing rather substantive issues and those mainly related to procedural aspects of a host state's legal system. In addition, the manner is discussed in which arbitral tribunals structure their argumentation on fair and equitable treatment and the extent to which it is capable of increasing the overall rationality of the argumentation. In the ensuing sections, the following points are addressed in relation to each of the principles of fair and equitable treatment: a general and comparative survey of the principle; the principle's appearance in arbitral jurisprudence; and its relative weight in the balancing process.

Sovereignty

Sovereignty constitutes a meta-principle of public international law that enshrines the independence and autonomy of states. Due to the importance of sovereignty in traditional international law and the fact that most other principles of fair and equitable treatment typically conflict first and foremost with state sovereignty, this principle is chosen to commence the present discussion. Thereby, it is not intended to give a comprehensive description on the concept of sovereignty: this section will illustrate only those aspects that might be of relevance for the understanding of the principle as part of the discourse on fair and equitable treatment.