The VCLT and the Validity, Termination, and Amendment of Treaties in Light of Ongoing ISDS Reform: Introductory Remarks

Many conversations regarding international investment law and ISDS are presently centred on reform initiatives. Part III of this book engages with these discussions to examine how the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaty (VCLT) rules apply and can be utilised to bring the policy goals underlying reform efforts into effect. This introduction begins by placing these developments into context. It then introduces the chapters in this part, which cover the termination and amendment of international investment agreements; current efforts to remove the possibility of intra-EU investment treaty arbitration on the part of the EU; and two of the most institutionally significant proposals presently under consideration as part of reform discussions: the possibility of creating a multilateral investment court and/or an appellate mechanism. Throughout, the focus remains on how the VCLT may interact with such initiatives.