Two of the distinguishing features of the law on foreign direct investment (FDI) are its complexity and its creativity. The law on FDI embraces the domestic rules and regulations dealing with foreign controlled business as well as the numerous bilateral and multilateral legal instruments. It is influenced by awards of international arbitration tribunals as well as numerous other sources, and thus undergoes permanent change. The various actors involved, including transnational corporations, investment promotion agencies, and multilateral donors, as well as lawyers advising foreign investors and financial intermediaries, each follow their own interests. By its nature, the FDI involves the interaction, and sometimes the clash, between different legal concepts of the participants and regulators. Counsels to local governments and domestic partners in a joint venture with foreign companies may not always be accustomed to legal documentation in an Anglo-American or continental European style. As a result, dealing with FDI requires a learning process for all the actors to understand and manage legal and business cultures. All this elucidates the need for a multi-author book which covers various areas of the law on FDI from different perspectives. This book undertakes a regulatory, policy and transactional approach both on the international and the domestic level. The authors of the book are all concerned with FDI as both academics and practitioners and come from a variety of legal, academic and geographical backgrounds. The book consists of three parts: first, a general introduction to FDI by Dr. Escher; next, an analysis of the emerging international law on FDI and related areas; and finally, an overview of FDI in a variety of countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. This variety of perceptions and topics should provide the reader with useful insights into international transactional and domestic aspects of FDI.

To whom are international financial organizations accountable? This unusual book asks not only this searching question, but also examines the extent to which accountability is honoured - or evaded - by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, and the regional development banks (collectively the international financial institutions, or IFIs). The fundamental recognition in this book is that the issue of what international legal principles are applicable to the operations of the IFIs is an important topic that would benefit from more rigorous study. Twelve deeply committed contributors - whose work spans the academic, policy, and activist spectrum - suggest that a better understanding of these legal issues could help both the organizations and their Member States structure their transactions in ways that are more compatible with their developmental objectives and their international responsibilities. Five essays set out the general principles of international law that are applicable to the IFIs and consider how these are or should be evolving to produce IFIs that are respectful subjects of international law and accountable to all relevant stakeholders for their compliance with international law. Six more focus on selected aspects of the IFIs' operations that both raise important and challenging international legal issues and that have substantial impacts on both the different stakeholders in the operations of the IFIs, and on the sustainability and success of the operations. Introductory and concluding essays frame the volume. The many issues raised include the following: * IFIs' impact on economic policies in Member States; * IFI operations as private financial transactions; * IFIs as key players in the creation of international law; * IFIs as promoters of the international capitalist system; * IFIs as bearers of human rights obligations under international human rights law or as participants in the UN system; * consequences of an IFI's breach of its own internal policies or directives; * IFI immunity; * IFI capacity to sue and to be sued in national courts; * ability of various claimants to sue IFIs in domestic courts; * environmental and social rights and interests of third parties affected by IFI financing; * right of indigenous people to give their free, prior, and informed consent to IFI operations that affect them; and * IFIs' treatment of workers' rights. Diverse perspectives in terms of experience, political viewpoint, and focus help define the topic with greater clarity and depth. In its detailed and critical overview, the book demonstrates that the IFIs have important responsibilities under international law and a powerful capacity to influence the development of international law in a number of areas. It is sure to stimulate thought, debate, research, and action on the topic, and encourage more rigorous engagement between the IFIs and international lawyers.

In this new volume in the Elements series, Daniel D. Bradlow traces the history and development of international law and international financial institutions from the inter-war years to today, providing a detailed overview of the legal frameworks within which such institutions were established and operate, and which structure their relationships with their member states and their citizens. The book opens with the Bretton Woods Conference and a background on the treaties establishing the IMF and the World Bank. It then discusses the Articles of Agreement of the IMF and the IBRD, providing information on their governance arrangements, mandates, and operating principles. The international legal status of these two international financial institutions, their international legal rights, responsibilities and obligations, and their privileges and immunities are also examined. In later chapters, the book explores how the structure, functions, and operations of the World Bank and IMF have evolved since their establishment and examines the regional development banks and the regional financial arrangements that were created after them. The book concludes by exploring the challenges that international financial institutions are currently facing, and the contributions that international law can make to help them successfully meet these challenges.

In this new volume in the Elements series, Daniel D. Bradlow traces the history and development of international law and international financial institutions from the inter-war years to today, providing a detailed overview of the legal frameworks within which such institutions were established and operate, and which structure their relationships with their member states and their citizens. The book opens with the Bretton Woods Conference and a background on the treaties establishing the IMF and the World Bank. It then discusses the Articles of Agreement of the IMF and the IBRD, providing information on their governance arrangements, mandates, and operating principles. The international legal status of these two international financial institutions, their international legal rights, responsibilities and obligations, and their privileges and immunities are also examined. In later chapters, the book explores how the structure, functions, and operations of the World Bank and IMF have evolved since their establishment and examines the regional development banks and the regional financial arrangements that were created after them. The book concludes by exploring the challenges that international financial institutions are currently facing, and the contributions that international law can make to help them successfully meet these challenges.