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39561. State Control over Interpretation of Investment Treaties

Author:
Lise Johnson and Merim Razbaeva
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Critiques of investment treaties relate to the concern that tribunals' interpretations of these agreements depart from states' understandings of the texts, and do so in unpredictable ways leading to expensive litigation and unforeseen liability. States, however, can take steps to make their intentions regarding the texts clearer, and reduce the risk of uncertain outcomes. This policy paper discusses these possible steps, and the legal rules supporting them, providing guidance to states, attorneys, and tribunals regarding the important role of states in clarifying vague standards in and managing liability under existing investment treaties.

39562. Locating production and income within MNEs: An alternative approach based on formulary apportionment

Author:
Dylan G. Rassier
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Economic accountants, who are responsible for measuring gross domestic product (GDP), and tax authorities, which are responsible for collecting tax revenues, face similar challenges with respect to multinational enterprises (MNEs): economic accountants want to know where within an MNE production is taking place and, thus, where to attribute GDP; tax authorities want to know where income from production is earned. Current global guidance on economic accounting and international taxation generally require transactions within MNEs to be recognized at market (or “arm's length”) values as if the transactions are taking place among unrelated entities. However, the values of transactions within MNEs may not reflect economic reality because related entities may exchange unique products with no active markets, and because MNEs may be structured with one or more entities that exist for purposes other than production. As a result, transactions within MNEs may distort economic accounting statistics and tax revenues.

39563. Canada's non-reciprocal BIT with China: Would the US or Europe do the same?

Author:
Gus Van Harten
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The Canada - China bilateral investment treaty (BIT) – ratified by Canada on September 12, 2014, after a two - year delay following its signature in 2012 – provides a useful reference for future investment negotiations involving Canada or China and other countries.
Political Geography:
China and Canada

39564. In Defense of Bilateral Investment Treaties

Author:
Stephen M. Schwebel
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The creation of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is the boldest step in the modern history of international cooperation on the protection of foreign investment. I t has furthered the flourishing of arbitration between investors and states, itself one of the most progressive developments in international law of the past sixty years. Since Germany concluded the first bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Pakistan in 1959, some 3,000 BITs have been concluded. Yet, there are reports that the European Union (EU), led by Germany, may exclude investor - state arbitration from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States (US), impairing the ubiquity of investor - state arbitration.
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, and Germany

39565. The Road to Responsible investment Treaties

Author:
Roel Nieuwenkamp Kimmo Sinivuori
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
As the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, first adopted in 1976 and updated for the fifth time in 2011, are approaching middle age, it is appropriate to reflect on how the use of the se far - reaching recommendations for responsible business conduct can be promoted in international investment agreements (IIAs). During the Guideline's almost four decades of existence, the landscape of the global economy has continuously evolved, and securing sustainable development has become a key international issue.

39566. The Crucial Role of Infrastructure in Attracting FDI

Author:
Peter Nunnenkamp, Julian Donaubauer, and Birgit Meyer
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
It is widely believed that a country's infrastructure is a critical factor in sustaining economic growth, promoting trade and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). However, better data are required to assess the links between infrastructure, FDI and economic development. The available measures are either restricted to specific aspects of economic infrastructure, or they cover only a limited number of countries over a short period of time.

39567. Germany, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and investment-dispute settlement: Observations on a paradox

Author:
Ralph Alexander Lorz
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) could become the most comprehensive international agreement on free trade and investment protection. The negotiations have mostly been met with the usual criticism that accompanies attempts to expand free trade, despite overwhelming evidence that free trade fosters global economic development.
Political Geography:
United States and Germany

39568. How to deal with the growing incentives competition

Author:
Kenneth P. Thomas
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
As I discussed in an earlier Perspective, the use of investment incentives is pervasive and growing. The most recent example of a big bidding war was when Boeing threatened to move production of its 77 7 - X aircraft out of Washington state, prompting some 20 states to offer incentive packages to the company (including $1.7 billion from Missouri). In the end, Washington gave Boeing a package of tax incentives worth a record - breaking $8.7 billion over the 2 025 – 2040 period to stay, and the unions made substantial concessions regarding pensions.
Political Geography:
Washington

39569. Good Governance of Third Party Funding

Author:
Catherine Kessedjian
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
An OECD study shows that arbitration costs in investment disputes average US$ 8 million; in one case involving mass claims, the parties spent almost US$ 40 million in legal fees just to reach the decision on jurisdiction. Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that third party funding has become the talk of the town.

39570. The Canada-China BIT 2012: Perspectives and Implications

Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
<p>The Canada-China BIT could provide insight on the key issues to be discussed in a possible US-China BIT. A particularly controversial issue will be the terms of investor-state arbitration (ISA). But as ISA becomes increasingly controversial between developed democratic states, it may become harder to negotiate ISA with China.</p>

39571. Mo Yan and Chinese Literature

Author:
Mo Yan
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program, titled Mo Yan and Chinese Literature, features an address by Mo Yan, Nobel Laureate in Literature, 2012. Introduction by: John Coatsworth, Provost of the University; Professor of International and Public Affairs and of History, Columbia University in the City of New York. Moderated by: Lydia Liu, Wun Tsun Tam Professor in the Humanities, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Political Geography:
China

39572. ICSID, public opinion and the effect of (hypothetical) elite messaging

Author:
Alisha Anderson and Alexandra Guisinger
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has emerged as a powerful actor within the field of inter-state investment arbitration. However, as with other international institutions, its existence depends on continued acceptance by domestic actors.

39573. The Transparency Rules and Transparency Convention: A good start and model for broader reform in investor-state arbitration

Author:
Lise Johnson
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
In July 2013, after nearly three years of work, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a set of arbitration rules that will help open some investor-state arbitrations to public view. The UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty - based Investor - State Arbitration (Transparency Rules) were crafted with input from governments, academics, arbitration practitioners, and non-governmental organizations, and approved by consensus by the member states. When applied, the Transparency Rules will require disclosure of information submitted to, and issued by, arbitral tribunals throughout proceedings, mandate open hearings and expressly allow for participation by non-parties to a dispute. The Transparency Rules also guard against disclosure of confidential information and establish a repository in which all information will be published.

39574. Withdrawing incentives to attract FDI: Can host countries put the genie back in the bottle?

Author:
Anna De Luca
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Many governments offer incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, the renewable energy sector has benefitted from large national incentive schemes in the past decade. However, the withdrawal of such incentives can lead to investors bringing investment treaty claims against host countries. This Perspective looks at some claims host countries face from investors in the renewable energy sector and their implications.

39575. How to enhance labor provisions in IIAs

Author:
Rafael Tamayo-Álvarez, Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, and Juan David Rodriguez-Rios
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Free trade agreements (FTAs) and international investment agreements (IIAs) are regarded as instruments to promote world trade, investment flows and market liberalization. The question, however, is whether they promote sustainable development as well. This Perspective contemplates incorporating voluntary codes of conduct for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in IIA s to strengthen the protection of labor rights, “the social component [...] embedded in the notion of sustainable development.”

39576. Cost allocation in investment arbitration: Forward toward incentivization

Author:
John Gaffney and James Nicholson
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called “costs follow the event” (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more “traditional” approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.

39577. Player at the sidelines - NATO and the fight against ISIL

Author:
Jean-loup Samaan and Andreas Jacovs
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On December 3rd 2014, NATO hosted the first meeting between the foreign ministers from the countries forming the US-led coalition against the so-called “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL). Although all NATO members are officially part of the coalition and the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, attended – as an observer – the meeting, participants said to the media that NATO would “only provide the building. ”Despite this word of caution, the event marked a new step in NATO's indirect involvement in the fight against ISIL. ! e ad-hoc coalition did materialize on the margins of NATO's Wales Summit last September. The question now is: will NATO merely play a role of a forum where coalition members meet, or could this lead to further participation?
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
United States

39578. Russia's Hybrid Warfare -Waging War below the Radar of Traditional Collective Defence

Author:
Heidi Reisinger and Aleksandr Golts
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Ukraine is not even a state!” Putin reportedly advised former US President George W. Bush during the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest. In 2014 this perception became reality. Russian behaviour during the current Ukraine crisis was based on the traditional Russian idea of a “sphere of influence” and a special responsibility or, stated more bluntly, the “right to interfere” with countries in its “near abroad”. This perspective is also implied by the equally misleading term “post-Soviet space.” The successor states of the Soviet Union are sovereign countries that have developed differently and therefore no longer have much in common. Some of them are members of the European Union and NATO, while others are desperately trying to achieve this goal. Contrary to what Professor John Mearsheimer may suggest. In his article “Why the Ukraine crisis is the West's fault” he argues that NATO has expanded too far to the East, “into Russia's backyard”, against Moscow's declared will, and therefore carries responsibility for recent events; however, this seems to ignore that NATO was not hunting for new members, but found them knocking at its door.
Topic:
NATO and War
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Ukraine, Soviet Union, and Moscow

39579. The "Home Game" - Countering Violent Extremism within NATO

Author:
Jacqueline Page
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
As the complex global security environment faced by NATO members continues to evolve in the coming years, terrorism – waged by actors both in and outside of their borders – will remain a vexing challenge. For over a decade, NATO's counterterrorism strategy has been built on taking the fight abroad. Member nations have been intimately involved in this effort as contributors to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, to the Multi-National Force in Iraq and in a variety of smaller missions around the globe. In recent times, however, there has been growing attention to the threat posed by “homegrown” terrorism and foreign fighters returning from Syria and elsewhere to their home countries throughout the Euro-Atlantic area.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria

39580. Europe's changing security landscape: What role will the EU play in security and defence?

Author:
Tuomas Iso-Markku
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The Ukraine crisis has reminded Europeans of the importance of defence policy, thus amplifying the main message of the December 2013 European Council on security and defence. Many of the proposals put forward by the December summit are currently being worked on, but the Ukraine crisis creates additional challenges for the EU, highlighting the strategic divergence within the Union and posing fundamental questions about its role as a security provider. Regarding concrete achievements, the EU's defence ministers recently adopted a policy framework for systematic and long-term defence cooperation, and the Commission has also begun to work energetically towards achieving its key objectives in the defence sector. Ultimately, however, the success of the EU's efforts will depend on the commitment of the member states.
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine