FORUM - Investment treaty law and arbitration: Common controversies

Why are investment treaties controversial? Investment treaties are controversial for many reasons, including because: 1. It is unclear that signing bilateral treaties increases investment Do investment treaties promote increased investment? Or does increased investment lead to pressure to sign investment treaties? The quality of foreign direct investment (FDI) data is notoriously poor, with states measuring FDI in various, often incomparable and time-inconsistent ways. Many developing states have limited administrative capacity to accurately measure FDI, no matter the methodology adopted, and FDI data on a bilateral basis is surprisingly limited.