Survey on Developing Country Investment Treaty Negotiations

The report details how developing countries approach investment treaty negotiations, highlighting a trend toward renegotiating outdated agreements and the use of model treaties. It identifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and investment authorities as the primary leads in negotiations and provides a detailed mapping of ratification processes across various nations.

• A majority of surveyed countries are actively negotiating new investment treaties, while a significant portion are renegotiating or terminating existing ones due to loopholes, imbalances, or outdated models.
• Experience with treaty-based investment disputes has led some governments to adopt more cautious approaches, including freezing the ratification of BITs or implementing constitutional language to avoid extra-regional arbitration tribunals.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and investment authorities are the most common lead agencies for investment treaty negotiations, though trade ministries play a more prominent role when negotiating investment chapters within broader trade agreements.
• Ratification processes vary widely by country, typically involving a combination of executive approval, parliamentary vote, and head-of-state signature, with some countries like the Dominican Republic requiring a 'constitutionality test'.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2019). Survey on Developing Country Investment Treaty Negotiations. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/survey-investment-negotiations-2018.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Survey on Developing Country Investment Treaty Negotiations. 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/survey-investment-negotiations-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Survey on Developing Country Investment Treaty Negotiations |date=February 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/survey-investment-negotiations-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2019survey, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Survey on Developing Country Investment Treaty Negotiations}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/survey-investment-negotiations-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }