Positing for balancing: investment treaty rights and the rights of citizens

Substantive bilateral investment treaty (BIT) rules have the potential to undermine the rights to health, safety and the environment of the citizens of host States if stricter State regulations to protect these rights amount to regulatory expropriation or breach other investment protection rights. This article argues that the rules created by BITs are comparable with and stand parallel to the rules created by the domestic laws of host States and BIT arbitral tribunals should balance these rights when they conflict with each other. BIT arbitral tribunals act as de facto courts since they enforce rights that are assertable against the public at large and not against the host State alone. Similar to the “rules” created by BITs, an analysis of the legal nature of “rights” created by BITs also reveals that they are comparable with the rights created by domestic laws of host States. The article articulates three legal arguments founded on substantive BIT clauses, human rights, and property rights on the basis of which, three specific rights, i.e., the rights to health, safety and the environment of citizens of host States may stand parallel to the rights created by BITs in favour of foreign investors. These arguments, both individually and pooled together,call for balancing these citizens’ rights with the rights of foreign investors arising from a BIT in the event of conflict

Towards greater integration? Legal and policy directions of Chinese investments in Pakistan on the advent of the silk road economic belt

Pakistan has an enduring friendship with China, and the two countries have longstanding economic ties. There is an existing strong investment flow between the two countries, but the new Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative and its offshoot China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will substantially increase the flow of Chinese investments in Pakistan. In the auspices of the SREB, China will finance its companies to build a comprehensive regional transportation network in order to stimulate economic growth and social development. The SREB Action Plan has a more viable strategy for long-term development as compared with the existing regional economic integration and development models, and the CPEC will undoubtedly create numerous opportunities for the two countries. A scrutiny of the Chinese policies to invest in Pakistan and the prevalent strong bilateral regime for investment promotion and protection suggest that China–Pakistan investment relations reflect a move towards much deeper economic integration. However, the various legal and policy orientations of these Chinese projects reveal serious challenges in reaching the overall vision, harnessing it with the intended objectives, and enhancing the legitimacy of its implementation strategies. There is a need for proactive solutions for the transnational problems that the CPEC and the SREB are going to generate

Pakistan’s woes with foreign investors - ways to prevent the Tethyan saga

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Served on a silver platter? A review of the UNCTAD Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation

Increasing dissatisfaction with investor-State dispute settlement has weakened the adversarial approach to international investment law and policy. This article argues that global initiatives, such as the UNCTAD’s Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation (the ‘‘Action Menu’’), provide good policy praxis to redirect the development of international investment law from adversarial to a constructive path. The Action Menu suggests rebuilding of future international investment law and policy with a reconciliatory spirit and by promoting investment facilitation for sustainable development. To demystify the Action Menu’s policy praxis, this article addresses the following key questions: How is the Action Menu’s proposed investment facilitation framework different from existing investment promotion and protection strategies? Does the Action Menu propose a fundamental change to existing international investment policy agenda? Are there other comparable initiatives that may enlighten the Action Menu’s approach? To what extent the existing domestic policies on investment facilitation reflect the Action Menu’s approaches? Would the Action Menu’s investment facilitation framework indeed promote sustainable development? The analysis primarily hinges on the impression that at the time when international investment law is fraught with internal antagonism, the Action Menu’s investment facilitation framework brings positive vibes to international investment law and policy making. Key strengths of the Action Menu are its holistic treatment of all primary foreign investment policy stakeholders (i.e., foreign investors and their home and host States) under one policy framework, and its whole-of-government approach for implementation of investment facilitation policies. The apparent weaknesses are a lack of attention to curb possible race to the bottom and visible lapses in offering a collaborative sustainable development programme. The article concludes that although the Action Menu sets out great policy initiatives, there are many issues that remain to be addressed

Law and society [Review] Steven Vago (Fourth Edition: 1994)

My primary interest in Sociology of Law is to analyse the interconnection between social and legal orders, and understand how the socio-legal environment reflects and influences different legal structures. I take up Vago’s book “Law & Society” with this avowed purpose, and also to refine, or perhaps to realign, my sociological imagination. I am also interested to learn research techniques employed in the socio-legal context, and possible uses of such techniques in the area of law I work in. Therefore, my review of Vago’s book would not offer any critique, at least from the sociological perspectives. However, I have made certain remarks over internal incoherencies of Vago’s ideas about law in chapter one and how he incorporates them into his sociological thinking. My review of Vago’s book would, nevertheless, be limited to what I understand and learn from it

What next for Pakistan's Board of Investment and FDI?

As Pakistan strives to attract more FDI, the Board of Investment must continue to learn from the examples of international best practices for FDI policy making and implementation. Dr Ahmad Ghouri examines Pakistan's 2013-17 FDI Strategy and analyses where the BOI needs improvement

What next for international investment law and policy? A review of the UNCTAD global action menu for investment facilitation

Increasing dissatisfaction with investor-State dispute settlement has weakened the adversarial approach to international investment law and policy. This article argues that global initiatives, such as the UNCTAD’s Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation (the ‘Action Menu’), provides good policy praxis to redirect the development of international investment law from adversarial to a constructive path. The Action Menu suggests rebuilding of future international investment law and policy with a reconciliatory spirit and by promoting investment facilitation for sustainable development. To demystify the Action Menu’s policy praxis, this article addresses the following key questions: How is the Action Menu’s proposed investment facilitation framework different from existing investment promotion and protection strategies? Does the Action Menu propose a fundamental change to existing international investment policy agenda? Are there other comparable initiatives that may enlighten the Action Menu’s approach? To what extent the existing domestic policies on investment facilitation reflect the Action Menu’s approaches? Would the Action Menu’s investment facilitation framework indeed promote sustainable development? The analysis primarily hinges on the impression that at the time when international investment law is fraught with internal antagonism, the Action Menu’s investment facilitation framework brings positive vibes to international investment law and policy making. Key strengths of the Action Menu are its holistic treatment of all primary foreign investment policy stakeholders (i.e. foreign investors and their home and host States) under one policy framework, and its whole-of-government approach for implementation of investment facilitation policies. The apparent weaknesses are a lack of attention to curb possible race to the bottom and visible lapses in offering a collaborative sustainable development programme. The article concludes that although the Action Menu sets out great policy initiatives, there are many issues that remain to be addressed

Technology enhanced learning: should artificial intelligence ever be used for teaching and learning?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms are helping everyday life ranging from simplistic procedures such as self-service checkouts to the complexities of dispensing correct medication to patients. Likewise, AI is helping the education sector in unprecedented ways. Today AI is being used from simple online delivery of teaching through to the creation of virtual assistants and complex data analytics. However, AI related incidents, such as the recent failure of Zoom to prevent posting of obscene images and controversy over AI predicted A-level grades in England, reveal the vulnerability of AI programmes. These failures evidence that AI algorithms may behave contrary to the expectations of developers. Such incidents have caused concern about the reliability of AI, which has also been criticised as being unethical. With the help of various examples of the use of AI in the education sector as well as in everyday life, this article addresses the trust issues arising out the use of AI in teaching and learning. Are concerns about AI over exaggerated? Is this lack of trust due to misconceptions about AI systems? This article argues that although more needs to be done to make AI algorithms safer and reliable to overcome the existing misconceptions and lack of trust, the AI technology is developing very fast and already proving to be very useful in many areas of science and knowledge. The research concludes that AI should be trusted because by restricting its growth, it is likely to constrain our growth as a species

Pedagogy of Islamic law in a diverse student cohort: the challenges and approaches to teaching and learning

Teaching Islamic law in a UK university is a unique experience. First, Islamic law is based on religious beliefs whereas UK universities offer teaching in a secular environment. Secondly, law schools are primarily meant to train lawyers and Islamic law in its purest form is not practically applicable in the UK or even in most Muslim majority countries. Thirdly, due to the series of recent events, such as those related to terrorism, Islamic law and Islam more generally has created certain anxieties making the teaching and learning of Islamic law a sensitive exercise. These sensitivities exist not only in the interrelationship of Islamic law with other legal systems, but also within Islamic law creating different viewpoints over the need to redesign the studies of Islamic law. The opposing views on interpretation of Islamic legal texts and their application in modern cultures and societies can potentially create frictions of thought and argumentation at the classroom level, which makes teaching and learning of Islamic law both interesting and challenging exercise. Most importantly, from the teaching and learning perspectives, the diverse background of students and their varying expectations makes the delivery of Islamic law teaching a complex exercise unknown to any other law subject. In these contexts, this article examines the implications for approaches to teaching and learning Islamic law from the standpoint of above identified challenges. By placing those challenges in the framework of existing pedagogical literature, the article addresses the UK Professional Standard Framework (UKPSF) requirements in the context of teaching and learning in Islamic law

Treaty Conflicts in Investment Arbitration

The thesis assesses one of the core problems arising in international investment law, namely, the conflicts that international investment treaties may create with other international agreements. This topic is so important because investment treaties are primarily intended to protect the interests of foreign investors, and do not clarify how they relate to other international agreements protecting interests that may compete with the interests of foreign investors. Tensions exist, inter alia, between international investment law and other branches of international law, such as human rights, international environmental, and EU law. These tensions are exacerbated by the fragmented nature of international investment law as a law governed by several thousand bilateral treaties. Ultimately, the multiple problems of fragmentation may put the legitimacy of international investment treaties and investor-state arbitration into question