Investment Arbitration in Asia: Five Perspectives on Law and Practice

Abstract

Despite the significant number of BITs or other investment treaties entered into by Asian nations, comparatively few investor-State arbitration proceedings involve Asian claimants or respondents. This article examines the reasons behind this low incidence of investment arbitrations involving Asian parties, particularly in contrast to the burgeoning numbers of investment arbitrations in other regions of the world. Theories developed to explain Japan's low domestic litigation rates are explored to ascertain if they can provide insights as to why relatively small numbers of Asia-related investor-State arbitrations have been instituted.