investment_10nov03-538ba8e76fcf2a12.pdf

The document examines the legal tension between the Calvo doctrine, which subjects foreign investment to host-state domestic law, and the international minimum standard of treatment (MST). It details the transition from the restrictive 'Neer standard'—which required an 'outrage' to prove a violation—to more flexible interpretations in NAFTA Chapter XI cases like Mondev and Loewen. The report highlights the role of the Free Trade Commission's (FTC) 2001 Note of Interpretation in attempting to bind tribunals to customary international law and warns that abandoning the 'bad faith' requirement for MST breaches threatens good governance by allowing arbitrary second-guessing of sovereign regulatory actions.

• The Calvo doctrine, historically prominent in Latin America, argues that foreign investments should be subject solely to the domestic law of the host state, effectively depriving investors of rights as aliens.
• The traditional 'Neer standard' established a high threshold for international delinquency, requiring that treatment of an alien amount to an 'outrage', 'bad faith', 'willful neglect of duty', or an insufficiency so extreme that any reasonable and impartial person would recognize it.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2003). investment_10nov03-538ba8e76fcf2a12.pdf. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/investment_10Nov03.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. investment_10nov03-538ba8e76fcf2a12.pdf. 2003. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/investment_10Nov03.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=investment_10nov03-538ba8e76fcf2a12.pdf |date=August 2003 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/investment_10Nov03.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2003investment10nov03538ba8e76fcf2a12pdf, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{investment\_10nov03-538ba8e76fcf2a12.pdf}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2003}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/investment_10Nov03.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }