The Journal of

WORLD INVESTMENT & TRADE

ABSTRACTS

Pierre Tercier: The Icc and the New Arbitration Centres in the Arab World

This contribution aims to shortly describe the views of the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration and the perspectives of the Icc arbitration system in the Arab World. It comments, as well, on the important relationships between the Icc and other institutions now offering arbitration services in the Arab World.

Pierre Tercier is Chairman of the Icc International Court of Arbitration and Professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. This contribution is based on an oral presentation made at the 13th Geneva Global Arbitration Forum on 6 December 2007.

Abdullah Al Faruque: Renegotiation and Adaptation of Petroleum Contracts: The Quest for Equilibrium and Stability

Renegotiation and adaptation of petroleum contracts as a risk allocation mechanism has become accepted as part of doing business in the petroleum industry. Renegotiation can be mutually beneficial for the parties provided that they co-operate and act in good faith and try to achieve an economic equilibrium of the contract in the changed context rather than to exploit the other party. Current contractual practice reveals that renegotiation and adaptation of contracts have the advantage of reconciling between flexibility and sanctity of the contract and can promote stability in the contractual relationship by introducing flexibility into it, reducing the potential of political risks and maintaining contractual equilibrium in a changed context.

Abdullah Al Faruque, LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M. (Dhaka University), PhD (CEPMLP, University of Dundee, UK), is Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Law of the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Clara Picasso Achaval: Tipping the Balance Towards Investors?

The growth of multilateral, regional and bilateral relations have brought the use of a number of standards that search to offer a safer environment to investors. Among these we can find the "fair and equitable treatment" standard. One of the main discussions around this standard is the issue related to the scope of its definition. Some maintain that it has an autonomous and expansive definition. The contrary view argues that it is tantamount to the international minimum standard of customary international law.  Although, traditionally, the majority tended to the adoption of the narrow scope of the standard, lately new awards have challenged this trend. Therefore, this article seeks to explain the new trends in defining the scope of the "fair and equitable treatment" standard. The analysis is set within the framework of review of the development of the practice.

Clara Picasso Achaval is with the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies of the University of Kobe, Japan.

Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim: To What Extent Should Egypt Go Deep in Its Free Trade Area with the United States? If Any!!

The proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (Rtas) is a striking phenomenon that is dominating the world trading system. Whether such Rtas are of benefit to the developing countries that are engaged in them is subject to debate. This study focuses on the Egypt–United States Free Trade Area (Fta). Egypt has been trying to start negotiations on such an Fta for a long time; however, there has always been reluctance from the US side. This study builds on the type of Ftas that the US has concluded and poses the question of to what extent Egypt should go deep in its Fta with the US if the aim is ensuring better market access. It adopts an institutional descriptive approach focusing mainly on the issue of "deepness" and analyses the potential costs and benefits to Egypt from undertaking a deep Fta with the US along the lines of Nafta and other US Ftas in the Middle East. It compares the costs and benefits of the expected Egypt–US Fta with those of the current systems governing Egyptian exports to the US. It concludes that the prevailing system might be of greater benefit and less cost to Egypt when compared with undertaking a deep Fta with the US.

Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics & Political Science of the Center of American Studies at Cairo University.

Joseph M. Senona: Trade Policy and Mdg8: Beyond the Rhetoric, Towards and Accelerated Multilateral Cooperation

This paper proposes and discusses the values of an accelerated multilateral cooperation and partnership between the World Trade Organization (Wto) and other international bodies in the area of human rights, Millenium Development Goals (Mdgs) and trade policy. This is done in an attempt to operationalise Goal 8 in order to facilitate the realization of Mdgs and broader human rights through trade policy. In doing so, the external relations, mandate and institutional mechanisms of the Wto as the main focal point of international trade rules and policy making are discussed and evaluated. The paper concludes that the Wto's institutional mechanism lacks flexibility to meaningfully promote human rights through trade policy and practically contribute to the progressive realisation of Mdgs through Goal 8.

Joseph M. Senona holds a Masters Degree in International Economic Trade Law and Investment Law in Africa from the University of Western Cape, South Africa. He is an official of the Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa.

Prabhash Ranjan: International Investment Agreements and Regulatory Discretion: Case Study of India

International Investment Agreements (Iias), signed by countries to protect and boost investment, restrict the regulatory discretion of the host nation. This paper examines how Indian Iias impact India's regulatory discretion by analysing four features, namely definition of foreign investment, most favoured nation, national treatment, and expropriation. India is pursuing a vigorous Iia programme aimed at attracting foreign investment. Indian Iias contain broad provisions without delineating circumstances in detail where India could move away from investor protection to exercise regulatory discretion to pursue public policy objectives. One important safeguard in the Indian Iias that preserves regulatory discretion is that all investments are subject to national laws.  Nevertheless, the paper argues that against the backdrop of the emerging investor–State case law, Indian Iias need to be drafted more precisely to strengthen India's regulatory discretion.

Prabhash Ranjan is a Lecturer at WB National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India.