Article: Exploring Investment Arbitration as an Avenue for the Resolution of Disputes Between Religious Organizations and Host States

Abstract

In a landscape where religious organizations, despite operating on a non-profit basis, are emerging as major contributors to national economies, owning land plots, engaging in commercial contracts, investing in socially important areas and accumulating significant financial resources, the author explores the possibility of extending the protections offered by historically profit-driven framework of international investment agreements to such organizations. This article primarily concentrates on examining the feasibility of making the investor-state dispute resolution system available for resolving disputes between religious entities backed by foreign capital and host states. This article does so by addressing both the legal (primarily jurisdictional) and practical challenges religious organizations may face when pursuing this avenue.