Business and Human Rights Treaty: A New Era for Public Participation in International Investment Agreements?

Abstract

International trade and investment agreements are problematic from a participatory rights perspective because they are typically negotiated without adequate opportunities for participation of the public. Such agreements provide for disputes concerning public policy to be decided by private arbitration, with little or no participation of the people they affect. The business and human rights treaty provides an unprecedented opportunity to create binding obligations on states to ensure trade and investment agreements are drafted and interpreted consistently with their obligation to uphold participatory rights. This thesis examines whether and how the business and human rights treaty could achieve this goal. It concludes that participatory rights should be embedded in the treaty text, with recommendations for what should be included.