The Status of Investor–State Arbitration: Resolving Investment Disputes Under the Transpacific Partnership Agreement

Abstract

Intense debate is currently brewing over the multistate negotiation of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). The TPPA is likely to be the second largest trade and investment agreement after the European Union, with trillions of investment dollars at stake. However, there is significant controversy and uncertainty over the resolution of investor-state disputes under it. This manuscript evaluates these issues. It concludes with the proposition that states that forsake investor-state arbitrator in favour of domestic courts, among other options, do so at their peril.