'Columbia University Libraries/Information Services'
Doi
Abstract
Most investment treaties grant investors the procedural right to bring claims against governments through investor-state arbitration. Under the arbitration rules that commonly govern the proceedings, including the arbitration rules developed by a United Nations body, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), these disputes can remain hidden from public view from their commencement through conclusion. Recognizing the public interest in investor-state arbitration, UNCITRAL has been working since 2010 to develop a legal standard that would ensure transparency in investor-state arbitration. Committed to the belief that transparency in investor-state arbitration is fundamental for accountability, good governance, and the rule of law, elements which are, in turn, crucial for sustainable development, the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) has been participating in the UNCITRAL process and has drafted various notes and proposals in support of the effort to increase public access to information regarding these disputes. In October 2012, the VCC and partners, the Center for International Environmental Law and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, prepared this background note describing and analyzing the key issues involved in UNCITRAL's work to increase transparency in investor-state arbitrations
