Scope and Definition

This UNCTAD paper, the sequel to the 1999 Pink Series paper on Scope and Definition, considers how the concepts of ""investment"" and ""investor"" have been defined in existing international investment agreements (IIAs), and how different definitions have been interpreted by arbitral tribunals, moving beyond a merely descriptive role and considers how to respond to arbitral awards. It offers policy options for IIA negotiators that better take into account the development needs of host countries and enhance the stability and predictability of the legal system. This paper concludes with a section on policy options for IIA negotiators. It argues that adding a development policy dimension to the technical definition of investment would help bring developmental concerns to the centre of the agreements' objectives and to the fore of tribunals' considerations (i.e. even before going into a substantive assessment of contested host country measures).