Public participation in the global regulatory governance of water services: Global administrative law perspective on the Inspection Panel of the World Bank and amicus curiae in investment arbitration

Abstract

Water services are increasingly subject to global regulation, forming the global water governance. The World Bank's technical advice and the decisions of investment arbitration are prominent examples of such influence. However, because of the distance of their decision-making from the citizens and their institutional settings, they have raised legitimacy concerns. This paper applies the global administrative law framework to examine the roles and effects of participation procedures, namely the Inspection Panel at the World Bank and submissions by a third person (amicus curiae) in investment arbitration.