Following the release of a draft model investment treaty (discussed previously here), the Indian government last week unveiled a final version of its proposed negotiating text (click to download). As we note below, the final model walks back some of the most ambitious proposals in the earlier draft (for e.g. the scope for states to make counter-claims against investors in relation to certain investor responsibilities) – but leaves largely intact certain other innovations, such as the requirement for…

Very few among the ardent observers of the World Trade Organization (WTO) had held any hope that the 10^th Ministerial Conference held recently in Nairobi would provide some direction to the seemingly rudderless organisation. The run-up to the Nairobi Ministerial was unlike any of the previous Ministerial Conferences as most of the members did not show much interest in drawing up an agenda for the members from the 162 members to discuss and take decisions. It was not very…

Following the release of the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, IAReporter has made an initial reading of the agreement’s investment chapter (Chapter 9) and some notable features of this chapter are discussed in this blog. In broad terms, the agreement’s investment chapter (click to download) looks familiar – particularly in relation to other recent U.S. investment treaties and FTAs. The agreement makes some of the same familiar concessions to public concern that have been…