Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration

The report examines the rising compensation awards in investor-state arbitral tribunals and compares these with approaches used in other international courts for private property claims. It proposes four reform options: updating treaty language regarding reparation standards, increasing engagement with domestic reparation mechanisms, promoting negotiated or mediated settlements, and increasing the use of tribunal-appointed experts to calculate compensation.

• High compensation awards in investor-state arbitral tribunals can worsen the negative socio-economic effects of investment treaties on the people and economies of host states.
• The report suggests four specific reform options for investor-state dispute settlement: creating new treaty language for reparation standards, requiring more engagement with domestic reparation decisions, encouraging negotiated or mediated settlements, and reducing reliance on party-appointed experts by using tribunal-appointed experts for compensation calculations.

APA

Shirlow, E. (2022). Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/international-courts-private-property-cases-reform-investor-state-arbitration

Chicago

Shirlow, Esmé. Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/international-courts-private-property-cases-reform-investor-state-arbitration.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shirlow |first1=Esmé |title=Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 June 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/international-courts-private-property-cases-reform-investor-state-arbitration |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shirlow2022approaches, author = {Shirlow, Esmé}, title = {{Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/international-courts-private-property-cases-reform-investor-state-arbitration}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }