CLA213 | International Investment Law and Arbitration

The course offers an introduction to the regime of international investment law (IIL), with a  particular emphasis on India’s experience. As a standalone course, the course hopes to provide  the participants with a foundational understanding of the objectives of investment treaties and  their politics, the prominent substantive standards of investment protection, investor-state  dispute settlement (ISDS) through arbitration, and emerging areas in IIL.

Given these objectives, the course is broadly structured to focus on: (1) History of IIL, (2) Introduction to IIL, (3) Introduction to BITs, Investment, Investor and Expropriation, (4)  Substantive Standards of Investment Protection, (5) Jurisdiction of Investment Arbitration Tribunals, (6) Procedure of Investment Arbitration, (7) India’s tryst with IIL, and (8) Critical  Reflections, (9) New Areas and Reform of IIL.

The readings include extracts from academic scholarship on the subject and ISDS awards /  decisions / treaties. For the latter source, cases involving India are prioritized where relevant. For novel and evolving topics, publicly available resources are linked to enable ease of access.

The pedagogical method includes a combination of lectures and Socratic discussion based on  the assigned readings. The faculty will also endeavour to facilitate pragmatic discussions by  drawing from their professional experience working in both government and private sectors.