CODIFICATION, LEGITIMACY AND TENSIONS IN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT LAW

Abstract

International investment law is in a state of intensive development, which is characterized by increasingly vocal call for deeper analysis and reform. Apart from proposals aimed at technical and procedural improvements of dispute settlement between investors and states, the questions of the basis of legitimacy of the overall system are increasingly coming to the forefront. History of development of this area demonstrates the tendency for an initially decentralized and rarely utilized system of dispute settlement to become a new regime of global governance, which is a development that requires careful analysis and reflection. This article particularly focuses on certain problems and dangers legitimacy-wise that can materialize as a result of efforts to codify rules which sprung from arbitral practice. Briefly, a possible way of developing a codification is presented, a way that could have significant role in enhancing the legitimacy of the system, as opposed to furthering existing tensions.