Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs)

Investment Policy Brief 9, July 2017

The Legal Nature of the Draft Pan-African Investment Code and its Relationship with International Investment Agreements

The present Policy Brief examines the drafting and negotiating process of the draft Pan-African Investment Code (PAIC). It analyses different aspects of this process, particularly the legal nature of the PAIC and its relationship with other international investment agreements.

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Policy Brief 37, March 2017

The Need to Avoid “TRIPS-Plus” Patent Clauses in Trade Agreements

A recent article in a prestigious journal reminds us of how the intellectual property chapter of free trade agreements can prevent the sick from getting treatment.  This article also critiques the TPP clauses and warns that they should not be translated to national laws or copied into other FTAs being negotiated. 
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Investment Policy Brief 8, March 2017

Reflections on the Discussion of Investment Facilitation

‘Investment facilitation’ is a concept repeated in discussions pertaining to investment policies and treaties, including those addressing the reform of investment treaties. The discussion on investment facilitation is taking place in various fora and contexts. (more…)

Investment Policy Brief 7, December 2016

The Experience of Sri Lanka with International Investment Treaties

This policy brief gives an overview of Sri Lanka’s experience with investment treaties, including highlights from a study undertaken by the authors in regard to the interface between BITs and FDI inflows. The brief also reviews international trends in relation to re-negotiating BITs and discusses the elements driving these trends, offering insights into the factors shaping this discussion in developing countries. (more…)

Presentation, October 2016

South Centre Presentation to the Special Event of the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly

UNCTAD organized a special event of the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on 26 October 2016 in New York on “SOVEREIGN DEBT RESTRUCTURINGS: Lessons learned from legislative steps taken by certain countries and other appropriate action to reduce the vulnerability of sovereigns to holdout creditors”. Ms. Yuefen Li, Special Advisor on Economics and Development Finance of the South Centre, spoke as a panelist and alerted the UN Member States of the current legislative challenges facing the sovereigns when it comes to the need for sovereign debt restructuring including the impact of the plurilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements.

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Investment Policy Brief 6, November 2016

Peruvian State’s Strategy for Addressing Investor State Disputes

This policy brief explains the approach adopted by Peru to establishment of the “System for the Coordination and Response of the State in International Investment Disputes” (SICRECI) and the role it played in responding to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases faced by Peru. It gives an overview of the sixteen ISDS cases brought against Peru to date. While this institutional development adds value in terms of managing cases as they arise, the paper points out that this system faces major hurdles due to multiple challenges arising from ISDS. As shown in the paper, after the establishment of SICRECI, Peru continued to face a rising number of ISDS cases. (more…)

Policy Brief 32, October 2016

Corporations, Investment Decisions and Human Rights Regulatory Frameworks: Reflections on the discussion pertaining to FDI flows and the impact of a potential International Legally Binding Instrument on Business and Human Rights

This brief explores the question pertaining to the impact of States’ participation in designing an Instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises in the area of human rights  on attracting foreign direct investment, which has been a persistent issue of discussion since the mandate of the inter-governmental group on the mentioned Instrument was established. (more…)

10th Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators, 7-9 November 2016

The Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators

The South Centre joins the International Institute for Sustainable Development annually in co-organizing the forum for developing country investment negotiators. The forum is a unique space dedicated to discussing current trends and perspectives in regard to international investment agreements, with a focus on developing countries’ experiences and objectives. It is dedicated to sharing of experiences and lessons learned from different national and regional contexts. (more…)

SC-Indonesia Investment Side Event to UNCTAD XIV, 20 July 2016

Title:              Approaches by Developing Countries to Reforming Investment Rules;

                      South-South Dialogue and Cooperation

Date:              20 July 2016, 13:00-14:30

Venue:           ‘Investment Village’, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

Organizer:   The South Centre and the Government of Indonesia
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SouthViews No. 129, 11 August 2016

Uruguay’s victory over Philip Morris: a win for tobacco control and public health

By Germán Velásquez

In a landmark decision that has been hailed as a victory of public health measures against narrow commercial interests, an international tribunal has dismissed a claim by tobacco giant company Philip Morris that the Uruguay government violated its rights by instituting tobacco control measures. The ruling had been much anticipated as it was the first international case brought against a government for taking measures to curb the marketing of tobacco products. (more…)

Research Paper 68, June 2016

Approaches to International Investment Protection: Divergent Approaches between the TPPA and Developing Countries’ Model Investment Treaties

While the international investment treaty regime is at a conjuncture, States face the challenge of designing reforms that would result in systemic solutions, and not merely cosmetic changes, to the challenges emerging out of the existing regime and the ISDS mechanism it embodies. (more…)

Research Paper 67, June 2016

Innovation and Global Intellectual Property Regulatory Regimes – The Tension between Protection and Access in Africa

This paper discusses the participation of African countries in global intellectual property (IP) regimes centred on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the implications of the expansion of the scope of IP regimes through bilateral trade and investment agreements. (more…)

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