The Legal Monster that lets Companies Sue Countries

The document discusses the proliferation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) between developed and developing nations, which provide foreign investors with protections and the right to bypass national and European Union laws through international arbitral tribunals.

• Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are increasingly used between developed and developing countries to protect investments from developed nations through guarantees of non-discrimination.
• BITs allow investors to bring claims before international arbitral tribunals, often granting them rights that are more favorable than those provided by the host state's national laws.
• There is a concerning rise in investor-state investment arbitration, enabling foreign investors to bypass both national and European Union law when bringing treaty claims against governments.

APA

Malik,, M. (2011). The Legal Monster that lets Companies Sue Countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/legal-monster-lets-companies-sue-countries

Chicago

Malik,, Mahnaz. The Legal Monster that lets Companies Sue Countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/legal-monster-lets-companies-sue-countries.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malik, |first1=Mahnaz |title=The Legal Monster that lets Companies Sue Countries |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=16 November 2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/legal-monster-lets-companies-sue-countries |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malik2011legal, author = {Malik,, Mahnaz}, title = {{The Legal Monster that lets Companies Sue Countries}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/legal-monster-lets-companies-sue-countries}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }