International Investment Law and History

Edited by Stephan W. Schill, Professor of International and Economic Law and Governance, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Christian J. Tams, Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, UK and Rainer Hofmann, Professor of Public Law, Public International Law and European Law, University of Frankfurt, Germany

'It is a trite point that history plays an important role in international investment law, perhaps more so than in other, less decentralised fields of international law. This very fine volume will provide much of interest to the careful reader, be it their 'historical' inquiry directed at the broader normative tapestry of sources, responsibility, and dispute settlement within which investment law operates; interpretation and application of particular primary rules; critical engagement with the systemic teleology; or theoretical and methodological underpinnings.' --Martins Paparinskis, University College London, UK'There is no shortage of reading materials dealing with the subject of treaty-based investor/state arbitration, but as the editors of this fascinating volume have perceived, the field is dominated by the ''here and now'', and thus lacks important insights of historical perspective. The original contributions to be found here compel the reader to reconceptualise issues in light of the recognition that they did not emerge freshly minted from a box just 25 years ago.'--Jan Paulsson, Three Crowns LLP, Washington DC, US'This is an outstanding collection of provocative and informative papers. The contributions provide short, fascinating histories of several important elements of contemporary international investment law, while exploring the methodological issues that confront historians of the field and surveying the recent historical scholarship. For anyone interested in the history of international investment law, this is the perfect place to start.'--Kenneth Vandevelde, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, US

• Contents:Preface and acknowledgementsPart I INTRODUCTION1. International investment law and history: An introductionStephan W. Schill, Christian J. Tams and Rainer HofmannPart II OBJECTS AND OBJECTIVES OF HISTORY2. Narrating narratives of international investment law: History and epistemic forcesAndreas Kulick3. The first investor-state arbitration? The Suez Canal dispute of 1864 and some reflections on the historiography of international investment lawJason Webb Yackee4. Understanding change: Evolution from international claims commissions to investment treaty arbitrationHeather L. Bray5. History and international law: Method and mechanism ‑ empire and ‘usual’ ruptureKate Miles6. The challenges of history in international investment law: A view from legal theoryJörg KammerhoferPart III METHODOLOGY AND ITS CHALLENGES7. Resolving challenges to historical research: Developing a project to define fair and equitable treatmentMona Pinchis-Paulsen8. The evolution of contractual protection in international law: Accessing diplomatic archives, discovering diplomatic practice, and constructing diplomatic historyJean Ho9. The gust of wind: The unknown role of Sir Elihu Lauterpacht in the drafting of the Abs-Shawcross Draft ConventionYuliya Chernykh10. Enriching law with political history: A case study on the creation of the ICSID ConventionTaylor St. John11. A genealogy of censurable conduct: Antecedents for an international minimum standard of investor conductMuin BoaseIndex