Course Overview

Over 3000 international investment agreements (IIA) currently operates through Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and investment protection provisions of free trade agreements (FTAs). Investment agreements are concluded by the investor's home country and the host country. Its aim is to protect the investor and investment made in the territory of the host country. By the nature of mixing public-private law, investment treaties usually have a wider implication for the domestic regulatory regime of host states. Notable examples include trade, tax, intellectual property, renewable energy, environment and public health policies. How to balance investor' rights and the host state's right to regulate in public mattes has thus become a topical issue in investment relations. On dispute settlement, foreign investor are given the direct rights to use international arbitration challenging the host state's measures. The arbitral rules of the ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) and United Nations Commission International Trade Law Arbitration Rules (UNCITRAL) are the two rules which have been most commonly used. As practiced, the number of investor-State arbitrations has mushroomed as hundreds of millions of dollars have been awarded as compensation remedies. Investment arbitration usually affects a wider public interest of a host state and thus has invited hot debates within international economic community. Tentative topics to be discussed follow. (1) Overview of International Investment Law Proliferation in Asia (2) Definition on investors and investments (3) Non-discrimination treatment: National Treatment; Most Favoured Nation (4) Indirect expropriations and right to regulate (5) Fair and equitable treatment: the emerging proportionality principle? (6) Full protection and security/ umbrella clause (7) Cross-cutting Issues in Investment Law Asia Perspective on Sustainable Environment and Public Health (8) BIT dispute settlement in East Asia and the dispute settlement in the investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (9) Introduction to ICSID arbitral rules(I): ICSID Jurisdiction, applicable law and interim measure (10) Introduction to ICSID arbitral rules(II):Challenge and annulment procedures (11) Introduction to ICSID arbitral rules(II): Enforcement and sovereign immunity

Learning Achievement

The course is designed to help students establish the basic capacity to deal with issues on foreign investment law. It will also help students have good basic knowledges of investment arbitration.

Competence

Course prerequisites

Class sessions will be conducted by lectures, students' presentations and discussions. 2. Each student is required to pick up a topic and make presentation in class. The topic shall be approved by the instructor. 3. The Power-Point slides should be delivered to the instructor, teaching assistant and students via e-mail and ceiba three days prior to presentation. 4. Each student is required to write a term paper at the end of the semester. The topic of the term paper needs to be approved by the instructor. The 10-page full-paper should use blue book citation. 5. Attendance for all classes and active class participation is strongly encouraged. In no event, the participants should miss two classes without good reason. 6. The course evaluation will be based on class participation (including attendance and discussion) (40%), the presentation (30%) and the final term paper (30%).

Grading Philosophy

Course schedule

Course type

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Tung-Wu Lu

Other information

(College of Medicine) Graduate Institute of Occupational Therapy,
(College of Engineering) Graduate Institute of Bomedical Engineering,
(College of Medicine) Graduate Institute of Occupational Therapy
*Registration eligibility: graduate students.

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