EVOLUTION OF THE LEGAL CONCEPT OF "FOREIGN INVESTMENT" IN A NETWORK SOCIETY

Abstract

The paper deals with the problems of definition of the concept "investment" in multilateral and bilateral investment treaties. The author shows how the approach to the definition of "investment" in international investment agreements has changed over time, how this concept differs in modern agreements from those enshrined in agreements concluded more than ten years ago. It is noted that today we can talk about the trend of a broad definition of the concept of investment in international treaties, that is, investments are understood as any kind of property values; further the author specifies what applies to them.
International treaties on the protection and promotion of investment also include the right to engage in business activities. It turns out that investment disputes can arise from ordinary commercial activities, for example from a contract of sale. However, there are documents that do not include monetary claims arising from commercial contracts, such as the 2012 model bilateral investment Treaty of the South African development Community.
Generally, investment protection agreements do not distinguish between direct and portfolio investments. Therefore, portfolio investments also enjoy the protection of these investment treaties. However, some of the international investment agreements that are currently being concluded specify that portfolio investments are excluded from their scope, such as the Model bilateral investment Treaty of the South African Development Community.
In the literature there are three approaches to the qualification of foreign arbitral awards as a foreign investment. According to one of them, the award is an investment, because it is part of the entire activity of the investor. Some modern international investment agreements contain provisions according to which arbitration, judicial decisions are not investments.