Book Launch: “Rethinking BITS: Critical Issues and Policy Choices”

The cross-border investment flows are currently governed by bilateral and regional investment treaties. Today, more than 3,000 BITs are in existence globally. However, there are signs of growing unease with the BIT regime across countries and regions. The growing number of investor claims against sovereign states challenging a wide array of public policy decisions and regulatory measures has evoked deep concerns about the potential costs associated with such treaties. A number of countries have been revisiting their BITs program since the early 2000s. This free-to-download ebook takes stock of current developments and explores alternative approaches to reform investment treaties. The book covers a wide range of topics – from current trends in investor-state arbitration to the wider ramifications of investment treaties on sovereign debt restructuring, the extractive industry, intellectual property rights and human rights, and raises some critical policy issues which are missing in the current debates. Contributors to the book include current or former government officials, legal experts, researchers and economists based in academia, think tanks and NGOs. It is very rare to find contributions by authors from such diverse backgrounds in a single publication. The co-editors of the book will briefly introduce the major concerns and ideas on IIA reform highlighted by the contributors, and distribute a limited number of complimentary copies to participants. For more details about this book, visit http://www.madhyam.org.in/books/