La réforme du droit international de l’investissement dans le cadre des transitions vers la durabilité et la paix économique

• Ted Gleason ^[1]
  1. [1] Grenoble School of Management

     Grenoble School of Management

     Arrondissement de Grenoble, Francia

     
• Localización: Revue internationale de droit économique, ISSN 1010-8831, Vol 38, Nº. 3, 2024, págs. 65-94
• Idioma: francés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • The reform of International Investment Law in the context of transitions toward Sustainability and Economic Peace
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• Resumen
  • English

    International investment law has long been a hotly debated field and continues to generate significant interest, with over 2,500 international investment agreements currently in force. Nevertheless, the international investment law regime has undergone substantial reform efforts in recent years, targeting both the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism and substantive investment law standards through the negotiation of “new-generation” international investment agreements. These reforms, however, remain fragmented and uneven. Increasingly, these initiatives are being aligned with global sustainability goals, recognizing that sustainability is inextricably linked to peace. This includes the emerging concept of economic peace, which critically examines the violence generated by economic systems and explores normative frameworks for mitigating such violence.

    This article examines whether ongoing sustainability-linked reforms in international investment law contribute to peace, particularly economic peace.

    It critically evaluates the extent to which the regime has fostered forms of slow-moving, structural violence and considers whether emerging reforms offer viable pathways toward a more sustainable and economically peaceful legal framework.

    The article begins with a historical overview of the evolution of the international investment law regime from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting its linkages with broader efforts to promote peaceful international relations. Using a broad construction of violence, the analysis explores how imbalances within the contemporary legal framework manifest as slow-moving, structural violence. Unlike direct physical violence, structural violence emerges through institutionalized power imbalances embedded in legal and economic systems. While the era of gunboat diplomacy and direct coercion has largely ended, persistent criticisms of the international investment law regime reveal its susceptibility to non-physical forms of violence, particularly those perpetrated by private actors against States.

    The article critically examines recurring criticisms of the international investment law regime, including issues of legitimacy, asymmetry, constraints on the right to regulate, and ideological opposition. Controversial ISDS jurisprudence further underscores how structural violence may act as a barrier to sustainability transitions and economic peace. These criticisms shed light on the systemic imbalances that hinder the regime’s ability to foster equitable and sustainable outcomes.

    The analysis then turns to the relationship between sustainability and peace, including economic peace, and evaluates whether ongoing reforms in international investment law can foster a legal framework more conducive to these objectives. Emerging innovations in new-generation international investment agreements—such as increased transparency, safeguards for the right to regulate in the public interest, and substantive reforms to investment protections (e.g., limiting the fair and equitable treatment standard and redefining indirect expropriation)—are identified as promising developments. While not a panacea, these reforms represent incremental steps toward a more balanced and sustainable international investment law regime capable of contributing to economic peace.

    Despite these positive developments, significant limitations persist. Old-generation international investment agreements, often silent on issues of sustainability, remain in force, complicating the interpretation and implementation of new standards. Furthermore, the regime’s inherent fragmentation poses additional challenges, as harmonization of substantive investment law standards or procedural frameworks is unlikely in the near term. In the dynamic sphere of international investment law, fragmentation is likely to persist, and a universal model of substantive standards remains improbable. Similarly, while recent multilateral efforts suggest progress, the ultimate form and adoption of procedural reforms remain uncertain. Consequently, the structural violence embedded in the regime will endure in the short and medium term. However, ongoing reforms offer glimpses of pathways toward more sustainable and economically peaceful approaches. Incrementalism, though imperfect, emerges as the most viable path toward more just outcomes. Until societies collectively commit to fundamentally less violent economic models, international investment law reforms will continue to proceed gradually, balancing progress with persistent systemic limitations.

  • français

    Cet article examine la contribution des réformes actuelles du droit international de l’investissement, en lien avec les transitions vers la durabilité, au concept émergent de paix économique. Il explore comment le droit international de l’investissement a historiquement contribué à pacifier les relations internationales tout en générant des formes de violence structurelle. L’article interroge sur la capacité des réformes en cours, souvent axées sur les transitions vers la durabilité, à instaurer un régime juridique plus propice à la paix économique. Il identifie les innovations susceptibles de favoriser des relations plus pacifiques, tout en reconnaissant leurs limites. Il conclut qu’en dépit de celles-ci, des outils juridiques émergent qui, bien que fragmentés et imparfaits, peuvent contribuer à des avancées significatives dans le cadre des transitions vers la durabilité et de la paix économique, s’ils sont correctement mis en œuvre.