Criteria for Determining the Affiliation of a Foreign Investor to a Particular State in an Investment Arbitration Dispute

Abstract

Implementing effective means of dispute resolution between a state and an investor represents significant achievement of the International Investment Law. Considering the abovementioned, In the Investment Law it is of crucial importance to determine which investor is eligible and has access to the international dispute resolution means. For the investor to gain access to the international dispute resolution means and to be the subject of the regulations of the ICSID convention or other bilateral or multilateral investment agreements, it is essential for the investor to meet the criteria of being foreign investor. Otherwise, in case of a dispute with a state, the investor will have to use internal dispute resolution means and national courts.
 
 In this article the following is discussed: International standards of determining nationality of physical person investors, international standards of determining nationality of legal persons by place of registration, location of headquarters, nationality of governing persons and location of real economic activities. In the article method of determining investors’ nationalities during partnerships is also discussed. Research of the aforementioned issues is significant both to ensure protection of investor’s rights and to introduce dispute prevention mechanisms.