The Need for Public Law Standards of Review in Investor-State Arbitrations
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
10-1-2010
Abstract
In recent years, investment arbitration has increasingly moved from its private law origins into the realm of public law adjudication, but the standards of review applied by ad hoc arbitral tribunals have generally not followed step to take account of this development. This chapter argues that public law standards of review should be more deferential to determinations made at the national level than those applicable to disputes of a purely commercial and private law nature, and highlights institutional expertise in public law matters as a key criterion to support this claim. Reviewing select standards of review applied by other international courts and tribunals, the margin of appreciation developed by the European Court of Human Rights is identified as the most preferable alternative to strict scrutiny review, an alternative that provides respondent states with sufficient freedom of action in public law matters while preserving the supervisory role of the international judiciary.
Keywords
Public Law, standard of review, strict scrutiny, margin of appreciation, least restrictive alternative, good faith, Argentina, European Court of Human Rights, expertise, proportionality
Publication Title
International Investment Law and Comparative Public Law
Repository Citation
Burke-White, William and von Staden, Andreas, "The Need for Public Law Standards of Review in Investor-State Arbitrations" (2010). Book Chapters. 5.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_chapters/5
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199589104.003.0022
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199589104.003.0022