Mossack Fonseca: Conference on Intergovernmental Investment Treaties

Mossack Fonseca - On March 14, 2016, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will host a conference on the balance between investor protection and governments’ right to regulate. The conference will take place at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France.

Many recent investment treaty developments have been driven by the quest for a balance between investor protection and governments’ right to regulate. Efforts to achieve balance have inspired innovation in treaty policy, led some countries to exit investment treaties perceived as out-dated, and informed treaty policy and practice worldwide.

The conference will explore:

• How governments are balancing investor protection and the right to regulate

• The search for improved balance through new institutions or improved rules for dispute settlement including the new Investment Court System developed by the European Union

• A case study on addressing the balance through substantive law―in particular through approaches to the fair and equitable treatment (FET) provision.

• How the OECD, working with other international organizations, can support constructive improvement of governments’ investment treaty policies in this regard

Governments have been evaluating key aspects of investment treaties at regular bi-annual meetings of the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Roundtable since 2011. This conference will gather senior policy makers and investment treaty negotiators from 54 advanced and emerging economies for exchanges with leading representatives of business, civil society and academia, as well as international organizations.