Investitionsschutz im Mehrebenensystem

Arbitration proceedings of foreign investors against several European States including Germany have provoked an increasing public criticism regarding International Investment Law. Its legitimacy, however, cannot be assessed in isolation. The agreements have to be judged as one source within the legal multi-level system. Therefore, the thesis applies the method of functional legal comparison, demonstrating that the level of protection provided by the different legal regimes restricting the State’s Right to Regulate is largely equivalent. Hence, the risk for the German State to be liable in Investor-State Dispute Settlement is rather low as long as the authorities obey all other legal restrictions of Constitutional and European Law.