This book opens with the intriguing assertion that the Central Asian region is of “global interest” due to its immense potential to develop as a dispute settlement harbour. The Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – have been prominent recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the previous two decades, particularly in the fields of energy and natural resources. To attract and provide legal support to foreign investors, all five nations have been swiftly improving their legal and institutional FDI frameworks by signing international investment agreements (IIAs), establishing modern arbitration centres, and modernising their national investment legislation. Central Asian countries have extensive experience in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) proceedings, frequently acting as respondent States. Overall, this comprehensive volume on international investment law in Central Asia makes the compelling case that the region's emerging approaches to treatymaking and FDI policies should be closely monitored, particularly in the context of investment reform led by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III and modernization discussions.
The volume contains seventeen chapters divided into five parts on investment law and arbitration in Central Asia, authored by leading experts in the field. The first part opens with three introductory chapters on the origins and legal history of foreign direct investment in Central Asian countries, as well as the prospects and limitations of the global arbitration law system in the region. The book's main body (Parts Two and Three) focuses on substantive and procedural ISDS issues in the Central Asian context. In a logical and consistent manner, the chapters examine jurisdictional issues, including applicable laws and the definition of “investor” and “investment” in the context of Central Asian IIAs and investment cases. Furthermore, the substantive investment guarantees – expropriation protection, the Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) standard, and the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) – are analysed in light of ISDS experience with five countries. Part Four focuses on the procedural features of investment arbitration, highlighting discussions on ISDS access, immunity defences, and the enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards. The final part of the book delves into more profound structural analyses of challenges and prospects concerning ISDS and the region's involvement in these dialogues.
The book makes a significant practical contribution by detailing specific examples of ISDS cases involving Central Asian countries in which sensitive procedural concerns such as third-party funding, claims of corruption, and security for costs have arisen during the arbitration process. These topics, pertinent to ongoing global investment reform, are masterfully handled in the book through issue-specific chapters and contributions dealing with the broader challenges confronting international investment law and the Central Asian region's involvement in it. The volume's overall conclusion is that the unique Central Asian experience in investment arbitration law and policy should not be understated in ongoing reform efforts. The book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners seeking to explore the most pressing issues concerning ISDS reform via the lens of a rapidly emerging Central Asian region.
Conflicting interests
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