India and Bilateral Investment Treaties

Description

As a consequence of being sued by more than 20 foreign investors, India terminated close to 60 investment treaties and adopted a new Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) purportedly to balance investment protection with the host State’s right to regulate. This book is a critical study of India’s approach towards BITs and traces their origin, evolution, and the current state of play. It does so by locating them in India’s economic policy in general and policy towards foreign investment in particular.

India’s approach towards BITs and policy towards foreign investment were consistent with each other in the periods of economic nationalism (1947–1990) and economic liberalism (1991–2010). However, post 2010, India’s approach to BITs has become protectionist while India’s foreign investment policy continues to be liberal. To balance investment protection with the State’s right to regulate, India needs to evolve its BIT practice based on the twin framework of international rule of law and embedded liberalism.

About the Author

Prabhash Ranjan teaches at the Faculty of Law, South Asian University, New Delhi, India.

Reviews

‘India has become an influential player in the investment treaty regime. Dr Ranjan’s excellent and balanced book traces the evolution of India’s investment policy. This book is the first port of call for policymakers and academics who wish to learn more about India’s BIT programme in its broader context.’

—Michael Waibel, University of Cambridge

‘I have been waiting for a book like this for some time. Given the rising importance of India’s economy and the unique path India has taken to investment treaty reform, this book provides an extremely useful guide to India’s investment treaty law and policy that is both comprehensive and critical.’

—Anthea Roberts, Australian National University

‘Scholarship is very good; presentation is very engaging and well-organized.’

—P.S. Rao, Former Judge AD HOC International Court of Justice

‘After refusing to sign investment treaties during the Cold War, India jumped on the BIT-bandwagon in the 1990s. In recent years, the pendulum of India’s investment treaty policy has swung back towards scepticism and backlash. Few have thought longer and harder about this development than Prabhash Ranjan. His book documents the

historical twists and turns of India’s investment treaty policy and combines legal analysis with critical reflections on the broader socioeconomic context in which the treaties operate. It is a required reading for anyone trying to make sense of the past, present, and possible futures of India’s investment protection policy,’

—Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen, University College London

Table of contents

Table of Cases

Foreword by Stephan W. Schill

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

1. Introduction

Phase I Refusal

2. Economic Nationalism: Refusal to Bilateral Investment Treaties

Phase II Acceptance

3. Economic Liberalism: Embracing Bilateral Investment Treaties

4. India’s BITs: Mapping the Acceptance—I
5. India’s BITs: Mapping the Acceptance—II

 Phase III Backlash

6. BITs Come Home to Roost but no Philip Morris Moment Yet!
7. Mapping the Backlash: Once BITten Many Times Shy!
8. The 2016 Indian Model BIT: Making the BIT Unworkable for Investors
9. Conclusion: Throw the Bathwater, but Keep the Baby!

Annexure

Index

About the Author