Discrimination in Investment Treaty Arbitration

Discrimination in International Investment Arbitration provides an original and comprehensive treatment of the non-discrimination standards at the heart of many investment treaty cases. Drawing insights from US law, EU law, and international human rights courts, Risvas supplies key insights into arbitration tribunals' decisions on the interpretation and application of a wide scope of standards, including Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Treatment; National Treatment (NT); non-impairment clauses prohibiting arbitrary and/or discriminatory measures; Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET); and non-discrimination in the context of the Expropriation standard. Advancing normative suggestions for the application of non-discrimination standards, Risvas proposes a template for practitioners, policymakers, and adjudicators involved in investment treaty negotiations. The book is also a valuable resource for legal scholars, as it clarifies inconsistent arbitral practice and distils the key traits of discrimination claims.

1 - Introduction
2 - The Nature of Non-discrimination Obligations Contained in International Investment Treaties
3 - The Legal Test for Establishing Violations of Non-discrimination Obligations
4 - Procedural and Evidentiary Matters: Burden of Proof, Standard of Review, and Standard of Proof
5 - Conclusions

Dr Michail Risvas is a Lecturer at Southampton Law School, University of Southampton, specialising in international arbitration and international economic law. Before joining the Law School, Dr Risvas was Assistant Professor at IE Law School in Madrid (2018 - 2021) and practised with international law firms in Paris (2013 - 2018), acting as counsel in investment and commercial arbitration. He holds a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Athens, and a doctorate and two master's degrees in international law from the University of Oxford.