We are here today to talk about investment arbitration in the context of corruption. I would like to first briefly talk about what we mean here by investment arbitration. Then I will explain that investment arbitration is too secretive, and that there is a need to reform procedural rules to make investment arbitration more transparent and therefore more capable of exposing corruptive practices in transnational investments.
I am using the term investment arbitration to mean the settlement of disputes arising between a host state and a foreign investor. Here, arbitration is typically initiated by the investor, and the host state is typically the respondent. In order for international arbitration to apply, the parties to the dispute need to agree to international arbitration, for example through a contract, or what we will call here, a “host-government agreement”. But in some cases, arbitration between a host State and an investor can be based on an investment treaty between the host State and the home State of the investor. In this case, the host State offers the possibility to the foreign investor from the home State to request arbitration for breach of treaty.