A Critical Opportunity for Transparency in Investor–State Disputes as Government Delegations and Arbitration Experts Meet in New York

The briefing highlights the lack of transparency in international arbitrations between foreign investors and sovereign governments, noting that many proceedings are conducted behind closed doors. It warns that proposed limitations by some delegations could render new UNCITRAL transparency rules irrelevant by preventing their application to existing and future treaties.

• There are nearly 3,000 treaties allowing foreign investors to sue sovereign governments, often resulting in significant financial penalties for states implementing environmental, health, or financial crisis regulations.
• Many investor-State disputes lack transparency because they rely on arbitration rules designed for private commercial disputes rather than those involving public interest and sovereign states, such as the 1976 UNCITRAL rules.
• There is a risk that the UNCITRAL Working Group's new transparency rules will be undermined by provisions proposed by some European and other states that would prevent the rules from applying to existing treaties or future disputes.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2012). A Critical Opportunity for Transparency in Investor–State Disputes as Government Delegations and Arbitration Experts Meet in New York. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/critical_opportunity.pdf

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie. A Critical Opportunity for Transparency in Investor–State Disputes as Government Delegations and Arbitration Experts Meet in New York. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/critical_opportunity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |title=A Critical Opportunity for Transparency in Investor–State Disputes as Government Delegations and Arbitration Experts Meet in New York |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/critical_opportunity.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2012critical, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{A Critical Opportunity for Transparency in Investor–State Disputes as Government Delegations and Arbitration Experts Meet in New York}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/critical_opportunity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }