Belgium’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty: A review

The report analyzes Belgium's 2002 Model BIT, finding that it follows a traditional European model that prioritizes extensive investor protection over host-state regulatory autonomy. It highlights significant risks in the treaty's broad definitions of 'investment' and 'investor', the lack of transparency in investor-state dispute settlement, and the aspirational nature of its environmental and labour clauses. The author argues that Belgium needs to modernize its model to safeguard its right to regulate and to ensure that investment treaties support sustainable development.

• The Belgian Model BIT follows a 'traditional' European model that provides extensive protection for foreign investors while imposing far-reaching obligations on host countries, often lacking provisions that promote sustainable development or preserve policy space.
• The treaty's investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (Article 12) offers minimal restrictions on investors, explicitly waiving the requirement to exhaust domestic administrative or judiciary remedies and providing no time limit for bringing claims.
• The Belgian Model BIT lacks transparency requirements for investor-state claims, proceedings, or decisions, which contrasts with newer models from the US, Canada, and Australia.
• The scope of the treaty is very broad due to an asset-based definition of 'investment' that does not require investments to be significant, lasting, or compliant with host country laws to receive protection.
• The treaty allows for 'treaty shopping' because its definition of 'investor' enables companies to manipulate their nationality to claim rights under the agreement.
• The Belgian Model BIT includes both an umbrella clause and a broad dispute settlement clause without limitations, which may allow contractual or domestic law disputes to be elevated to international arbitration.
• The Most Favoured Nation (MFN) provision is broad and lacks exceptions, potentially allowing investors to 'import' more favourable substantive or procedural commitments from other treaties signed by the host state.
• The expropriation provisions (Article 7) are more demanding than other IIAs because they require that measures not be 'contrary to any specific commitments' and may require compensation even for measures taken for 'security or national interest'.
• The Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) obligation is stated simply without linking it to the customary international law minimum standard, leaving it open to overbroad interpretation by tribunals.
• The environmental and labour provisions (Articles 5 and 6) are criticized as being merely aspirational, using the phrase 'strive to' rather than mandatory language, and relying on narrow definitions of 'legislation' that may exclude policies or administrative decisions.
• The treaty is essentially silent on the obligations of the home state and the foreign investor, focusing almost exclusively on the conduct of the host state.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N., & Johnson, L. (2011). Belgium’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty: A review. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/belgiums_model_bit.pdf

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie, and Lise Johnson. Belgium’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty: A review. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/belgiums_model_bit.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |last2=Johnson |first2=Lise |title=Belgium’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty: A review |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/belgiums_model_bit.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2011belgiums, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie and Johnson, Lise}, title = {{Belgium’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty: A review}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/belgiums_model_bit.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }