Fulvio Maria Palombino (Università di Napoli Federico II)

The Humanization of International Investment Law

at Campus Luigi Einaudi Aula H2

International investment law and arbitration are nowadays facing a legitimacy crisis due to their inherentlyasymmetric structure, which has been often perceived as pro-investor biased. In order to rebalance the system,several States are increasingly modifying – or even terminating – their investment treaties, so as to replaceinvestor-State dispute settlement mechanisms with domestic or inter-State procedures of dispute settlement.Nevertheless, such a tendency may prove counterproductive: indeed, it could be perceived by investors as a stepback by those States in protecting their investments. Against this background, it is contended that a moreeffective pathway for avoiding this risk and strengthening the position of host States vis-à-vis foreign investorswould rather be to rely on the so-called «humanization of international law» argument. Despite such an argumenthas traditionally been used in order to promote the interests of investors by recognizing their international legalpersonality, if seen from a State-centric perspective, it may also serve the purpose of imposing obligations uponinvestors, thus enabling States to act in the general interest of their own population.

Discussant Prof. Oddenino (Società italiana per l’Organizzazione internazionale – Sezione Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta)