Ergebnis- und prozessorientierte Stabilisierungsmechanismen und staatliches Regulierungsinteresse

Foreign direct investment is associated with the risk that a host state’s changes to the legal framework negatively affect the investment. Commitments of the state not to change the legal framework or to exempt the investor from such changes may increase investor confidence. Such commitments, for example through stabilisation clauses in investor-state contracts, affect the quest for balance between investor protection and governments’ right to regulate.
The author analyses the legal validity and functional value of stabilisation clauses through the lens of private international law and international investment law. Building on case studies from the extractive industries in Guinea and Liberia, the author discusses design options for stabilisation commitments that reconcile the right to regulate and investor protection.