Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 January 2021
This article considers assertions of the diminution of the monetary sovereignty of host states when they sign bilateral investment treaties. It discusses monetary transfer provisions in the model BITs of South Africa and Egypt and how their construction can affect states’ rights to regulatory autonomy in mitigating financial crises. This has become imperative in light of recent discussions on the possibilities for a systemic overhaul of BIT provisions, by pushing back against the diminution of host states’ sovereignty in order to respond to the force of globalization. Achieving this would require reform of existing model BITs to introduce appropriate exceptions in order to ensure policy space to protect the public interest.
Teaching associate, Manchester Law School, University of Manchester, UK.
1 Sirr, G, Garvey, J and Gallagher, LA “Bilateral investment treaties and foreign direct investment: Evidence of asymmetric effects on vertical and horizontal investments” (2017) 35/1 Development Policy Review 93 at 93CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
2 Falvey, R and Foster-McGregor, N “North-south foreign direct investment and bilateral investment treaties” (2018) 41/1 World Economy 2 at 2CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
3 Franck, S “The legitimacy crisis in investment treaty arbitration: Privatizing public international law through inconsistent decisions” (2005) 73/4 Fordham Law Review 1521 at 1525Google Scholar.
4 Desbordes, R and Vicard, V “Foreign direct investment and bilateral investment treaties: An international policy perspective” (2009) 37/3 Journal of Comparative Economics 372 at 372CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
5 Nathan, JM “Crisis, conditions, and capital: The effect of International Monetary Fund agreements on foreign direct inflows” (2004) 48/2 Journal of Conflict Resolution 194 at 201Google Scholar.
6 Crystal, J “Sovereignty, bargaining and the international regulation of foreign direct investment” (2009) 23/3 Global Society 225 at 226CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
7 Ibid.
8 Neumayer, E and Spess, L “Do bilateral investment treaties increase foreign direct investment to developing countries?” (2005) 33/10 World Development 1567 at 1567CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
9 Allee, T and Peinhardt, C “Evaluating three explanations for the design of bilateral investment treaties” (2014) 66/1 World Politics 47 at 50CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
10 UNCTAD Investment Policy, available at: <https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org> (last accessed 2 December 2020).
11 Aaken, A van “Perils of success? The case of international investment protection” (2008) 9/1 European Business Organization Law Review 1 at 3Google Scholar.
12 Martini, C “Avoiding the planned obsolescence of modern international investment agreements: Can general exception mechanisms be improved” (2018) 59/8 Boston College Law Review 2877 at 2878Google Scholar.
13 Zimmermann, CD “The concept of monetary sovereignty revisited” (2013) 24/3 European Journal of International Law 797 at 799CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
14 Kleinheisterkamp, J “Investment treaty law and the fear for sovereignty: Transnational challenges and solutions” (2015) 78/5 Modern Law Review 793 at 793CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
15 Thaliath, J “Bilateral investment treaties and sovereignty: An analysis with respect to international investment law” (2016) 5/2 Christ University Law Journal 1 at 3CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
16 Oruaze, DM “Rebalancing international investment agreements in favour of host states” (2018) 60/2 International Journal of Law and Management 453 at 469Google Scholar.
17 Zimmermann “The concept of monetary sovereignty”, above at note 13 at 802.
18 Picciotto, S “Linkages in international investment regulation: The antinomies of the draft multilateral agreement on investment” (1998) 19/3 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law 731 at 735Google Scholar.
19 L Choukroune “Judging the state in international trade and investment law: Why, how and what for?” in L Choukroune (ed) Judging the State in International Trade and Investment Law: Sovereignty Modern, the Law and Economics (2016, Springer) 1 at 2.
20 Jackson, JH “Reflections on international economic law” (1996) 17/1 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law 17 at 24–25Google Scholar.
21 Quiggin, J “Globalization and economic sovereignty” (2001) 9/1 The Journal of Political Philosophy 56 at 56CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
22 Cohen, SD “Multi-national corporations versus the nation-state: Has sovereignty been outsourced?” in Cohen, SD (ed) Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment: Avoiding Simplicity, Embracing Complexity (2007, Oxford University Press) 233 at 236CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
23 Martini “Avoiding the planned obsolescence”, above at note 12 at 2878.
24 Kurtz, J “Adjudging the exceptional at international investment law: Security, public order and financial crisis” (2010) 59/2 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 325 at 326CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
25 G Charalampos “The right to regulate in international investment law and the law of state responsibility: A Hohfeldian approach” (3 May 2017) SSRN, available at: <https://ssrn.com/abstract=2962686> (last accessed 10 November 2020).
26 Jackson, JH “Traditional Westphalian sovereignty controls: Outmoded and discredited” in Shan, W, Simons, P and Singh, D (eds) Redefining Sovereignty in International Economic Law (2008, Bloomsbury Publishing) 1 at 5Google Scholar.
27 Ibid.
28 Zimmermann, CD A Contemporary Concept of Monetary Sovereignty (2013, Oxford University Press) at 7CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
29 C Herrmann and C Dornacher International and European Monetary Law: An Introduction (2017, Springer International) at 13.
30 Zimmermann “The concept of monetary sovereignty”, above at note 13 at 798–99.
31 Trevis, T “Monetary sovereignty today” in Giovanoli, M (ed) International Monetary Law: Issues for the New Millennium (2000, Oxford University Press) 111Google Scholar.
32 Cottier, T, Lastra, RM, Tietje, C and Satragno, L The Rule of Law in Monetary Affairs (2014, Cambridge University Press) at 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Baltensperger, E and Cottier, T “The role of international law in monetary affairs” (2010) 13/3 Journal of International Economic Law 911 at 912CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
33 Herrmann and Dornacher International and European Monetary Law, above at note 29 at 14.
34 Ibid.
35 Cottier et al The Rule of Law, above at note 32 at 3–4.
36 Kern, C “Transfer of funds” in Bungenberg, M, Griebel, J, Hobe, S and Reinisch, A (eds) International Investment Law (2015, Hart) 870 at 872Google Scholar.
37 Mann, FA “Money in public international law” (1949) 26 British Yearbook of International Law 259 at 260Google Scholar.
38 Id at 292.
39 Ibid.
40 Zimmermann, CD “The concept of monetary sovereignty revisited” (2013) 24/3 European Journal of International Law 797 at 803CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
41 Kolo, A “Transfer of funds: The interaction between the IMF articles of agreement and modern investment treaties: A comparative law perspective” in Schill, SW (ed) International Investment Law and Comparative Law (2010, Oxford University Press) 345 at 348Google Scholar.
42 Ibid; CC Lichtenstein “International jurisdiction over international capital flows and the role of the IMF: Plus ça change” in Giovanoli (ed) International Monetary Law, above at note 31, 61.
43 F Ghodoosi “The limits of free movement of capital: The status of customary international law of money” (2014) VII/1 Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review 287 at 293.
44 Vandevelde, KJ “Sustainable liberalism and the international investment regime” (1988) 19/2 Michigan Journal of International Law 373 at 378Google Scholar.
45 Simmons, BA “The legalization of international monetary affairs” (2000) 54/3 International Organization 573 at 573CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
46 Mann “Money in public international law”, above at note 37 at 265–66; Motala, Z “Free trade, the Washington consensus, and bilateral investment treaties the South African journey: A rethink on the rules on foreign investment by developing countries” (2017) 6/1 American University Business Law Review 31 at 32Google Scholar.
47 Ibid.
48 Liu, Q “Transfer of funds in China-US BIT negotiations: Comparing the Articles of Agreement to the IMF” (2012) 11/1 Journal of International Trade Law 6 at 7Google Scholar.
49 Haynes, J “Overseeing the international financial and monetary system: A critical analysis of the International Monetary Fund's article iv surveillance mandate” (2012) 6/4 Law and Financial Markets Review 292 at 292CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
50 Simmons “The legalization of international monetary affairs”, above at note 45 at 578.
51 Articles of Agreement of the IMF, available at <https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/index.htm> (last accessed 10 November 2020).
52 Seigel, DE “Legal aspects of the IMF / WTO relationship: The fund's Articles of Agreement and the WTO agreements” (2002) 96/3 The American Journal of International Law 561 at 565Google Scholar.
53 Art XXX(d) of the Articles of Agreement differentiates between capital and current account transactions by listing in a non-exhaustive manner examples of payments that do not qualify as capital account transactions: Kolo “Transfer of funds”, above at note 41 at 349.
54 Ibid.
55 Zimmerman, CD “The promotion of transfer of funds liberalisation across international economic law” (2011) 12/5 Journal of World Investment and Trade 725 at 729CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
56 IMF “IMF conditionality”, available at: <https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/02/21/28/IMF-Conditionality> (last accessed 10 November 2020).
57 Herrmann and Dornacher International and European Monetary Law, above at note 29 at 54.
58 Id at 55.
59 Id at 57–59.
60 Gallagher, KP “The IMF, capital controls and developing countries” (2011) 46/19 Economic and Political Weekly 12 at 13Google Scholar.
61 KP Gallagher “Ruling capital: The new International Monetary Fund view of the capital account” in KP Gallagher (ed) Ruling Capital (2015, Cornell University Press) 124.
62 Id at 126–27.
63 JM Chwieroth and JMM Chwieroth Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization (2010, Princeton University Press) at 224–25.
64 Ibid.
65 Matthias, B, Koniger, J and Nunnenkamp, P “FDI promotion through bilateral investment treaties: More than a bit?” (2010) 146/1 Review of World Economics 147 at 148Google Scholar.
66 Zimmermann A Contemporary Concept, above at note 28 at 38.
67 Id at 49.
68 A de Luca “Transfer provisions of BITs in times of financial crisis” (2014) 23/1 The Italian Yearbook of International Law Online 113 at 114–15.
69 Viterbo, A International Economic Law and Monetary Measures: Limitations to States’ Sovereignty and Dispute Settlement (2012, Edward Elgar) at 238CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
70 R Dolzer “Transfer of funds: Investment rules and their relationships to other international agreements” in M Giovanoli and D Devos (eds) International Monetary and Financial Law: The Global Crisis (2010, Oxford University Press) 533.
71 de Luca “Transfer provisions of BITs”, above at note 68 at 115.
72 Viterbo International Economic Law, above at note 69 at 44.
73 Turyn, A and Aznar, FP “Drawing the limits of transfer provisions” in Waibel, M (ed) The Backlash Against Investment Arbitration: Perception and Reality (2010, Kluwer Law International) 51 at 52Google Scholar.
74 Id at 53.
75 Current transfers relate to transfers that emanate from the income derived from investments, while capital transfers relate to transfer of funds following the liquidation or sale of an asset connected to investments. See Ranjan, P and Anand, P “The 2016 model Indian bilateral investment treaty: A critical deconstruction” (2017) 38/1 Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business 1 at 38Google Scholar.
76 Dupont, C and Schultc, T “Do hard economic times lead to international legal disputes? The case of investment arbitration” (2013) 19/4 Swiss Political Science Review 564 at 564CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
77 Id at 566.
78 K Mohamadieh “Challenges of investment treaties on policy areas of concern to developing countries” (2019) 17 Investment Policy Brief 1 at 2.
79 Yianni, A and Vera, C de “The return of capital controls” (2010) 73/4 Law and Contemporary Problems 357 at 357Google Scholar.
80 Kolo, A and Walde, T “Capital transfer restrictions under modern investment treaties” in Reinisch, A (ed) Standards of Investment Protection (2008, Oxford University Press) 205 at 214Google Scholar.
81 Ibid.
82 Id at 215.
83 Ibid.
84 Id at 216.
85 Sornarajah, M The International Law on Foreign Investment (2010, Cambridge University Press) at 207CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
86 LE Peterson “Bilateral investment treaties and development policy-making” (November 2004, International Institute for Sustainable Development), available at: <https://pravo.hse.ru/data/2012/10/05/1244483607/READER_Bilateral%20Investment%20Treaties%202004.pdf> (last accessed 10 November 2020).
87 Ibid.
88 Motala “Free trade”, above at note 46 at 33.
89 EC Schlemmer “An overview of South Africa's bilateral investment treaties and investment policy” (2016) 31/1 ICSID Review 167 at 172.
90 KP Gallagher “Losing control: Policy space to prevent and mitigate financial crises in trade and investment agreements” (2011) 29/4 Development Policy Review 387 at 387.
91 “International investment agreements navigator” (UNCTAD investment policy hub), available at: <https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/international-investment-agreements/model-agreements> (last accessed 10 November 2020).
92 Ibid.
93 Seigel “Legal aspects of the IMF / WTO relationship”, above at note 52 at 570–71; B Adrian and C Roulet “Capital controls on inflows, the global financial crisis and economic growth: Evidence for emerging economies” (2013) 2 OECD Journal: Financial Markets Trends 29 at 30.
94 A Kolo and T Walde “Economic crises, capital transfer restrictions and investor protections under modern investment treaties” (2008) 3/2 Capital Markets Law Journal 154 at 154.
95 Gallagher “Ruling capital”, above at note 61 at 130.
96 Sornarajah The International Law, above at note 85 at 207.
97 S Harout “Five years later: The CMS award placed in the context of the Argentine financial crisis and the ICSID arbitration boom” (2007) 38/3 The University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 667 at 667–68.
98 G Sacerdoti “BIT protections and economic crises: Limits to their coverage, the impact of multilateral financial regulation and the defence of necessity” (2013) 28/2 ICSID Review 351 at 351.
99 Alex Genin and Others v Republic of Estonia (ICSID case no ARB/99/2).
100 Turyn and Aznar “Drawing the limits”, above at note 73 at 54.
101 Biwater Gauff (Tanzania) Limited v United Republic of Tanzania (ICSID case no ARB/05/22).
102 Dolzer “Transfer of funds”, above at note 70 at 534.
103 ICSID case no ARB/01/8.
104 Turyn and Aznar “Drawing the limits”, above at note 73.
105 AK Kent and R Harrington “A state of necessity: International legal obligations in times of crises” (2012) 42/1 Canadian Review of American Studies 65 at 67–69.
106 ICSID case no ARB/03/9.
107 Turyn and Aznar “Drawing the limits”, above at note 73 at 57.
108 Ibid.
109 Dolzer “Transfer of funds”, above at note 70 at 535.
110 Ibid
111 WW Burke-White “The Argentine financial crisis: State liability under BITs and the legitimacy of the ICSID system” (2008) 3/1 Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy 199 at 205.
112 Turyn and Aznar “Drawing the limits”, above at note 73 at 60.
113 Ibid.
114 Ibid.
115 WJ Moon “Essential security interests in international investment agreements” (2012) 15/2 Journal of International Economic Law 481 at 482 and 488.
116 Id at 487.
117 Id at 482.
118 C Binder and A Reinisch “Economic emergency powers: A comparative law perspective” in Schill (ed) International Investment Law, above at note 41, 503.
119 MA Desai, CF Foley and JR Hines Jr “Capital controls, liberalization and foreign direct investment” (2006) 19/4 The Review of Financial Studies 1433 at 1438.
120 Id at 1433.
121 Q Li and DL Smith “The dilemma of financial liberalization: State autonomy and societal demands” (2002) 64/3 The Journal of Politics 764 at 765.
122 M Parish “On necessity” (2010) 11/2 The Journal of World Investment and Trade 169 at 169.
123 Ibid.
124 Zimmermann “The concept of monetary sovereignty”, above at note 13 at 804.
125 Ibid.
126 Aikaterini, T The Right to Regulate in International Investment Law (2014, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing) at 33Google Scholar.
127 Allee, T and Peinhardt, C “Delegating differences: Bilateral investment treaties and bargaining over dispute resolutions provisions” (2010) 54/1 International Studies Quarterly 1 at 23CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
128 Perrone, NM “The governance of foreign investment at a crossroad: Is an overlapping consensus the way forward?” (2015) 15/1 Global Jurist 1 at 3CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
129 Foster, GK “Investors, states and stakeholders: Power asymmetries in international investment and the stabilizing potential of investment treaties” (2013) 17/2 Lewis and Clark Law Review 363 at 366Google Scholar.
130 Cohen “Multinational corporations versus”, above at note 22 at 243.
131 Posner, EA and Sykes, AO Economic Foundations of International Law (2013, Harvard University Press) at 70Google Scholar.
132 Tienhaara, K “Once BITten, twice shy? The uncertain future of ‘shared sovereignty’ in investment treaty arbitration” (2011) 30/3 Policy and Society 185 at 192CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
133 Raustiala, K “Rethinking the sovereignty debate in international economic law” (2003) 6/4 Journal of International Economic Law 841 at 847CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
134 Garcia-Bolivar, OE “Sovereignty vs investment protection: Back to Calvo” (2009) 24/2 ICSID Review 464 at 469CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
135 Crystal, J “Sovereignty, bargaining and the international regulation of foreign direct investment” (2009) 23/3 Global Society 225 at 228CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
136 Brewster, R “Unpacking the state's reputation” (2009) 50/2 Harvard International Law Journal 231 at 232Google Scholar.
137 Motala “Free trade”, above at note 46 at 49.
138 Sykes, AO “The economic structure of international investment agreement with implications for treaty interpretation and design” (2019) 113/3 American Journal of International Law 482 at 483–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
139 Szewczyk, BMJ “Sempra Energy International v Argentine Republic” (2011) 105/3 The American Journal of International Law 547 at 553CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
140 Crystal “Sovereignty”, above at note 6 at 228.
141 Kleinheisterkamp, J “Investment treaty law and the fear for sovereignty: Transnational challenges and solutions” (2015) 78/15 Modern Law Review 793 at 803CrossRefGoogle Scholar.