Overview
Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) establish the terms and conditions for private investments made by individuals and business entities from one sovereign state in another sovereign state. BITs are often negotiated as part of a larger trade agreement between the contracting states.
BITs grant investors from a contracting state certain guarantees, including "fair and equitable treatment," protection from expropriation, and the free transfer of funds. In addition, they provide investors recourse to arbitration, often under the auspices of ICSID, to resolve disputes with the host state.
Listed below are resources for accessing the full texts of bilateral investment treaties. BITs usually are drafted in the official language(s) of one or both of the contracting states. Sometimes the contracting states agree to draft the treaty in a neutral language, such as English. Note that BITs drafted in languages other than English may not be available in English translation.
Subscription-Based Electronic Resources
- Investment Claims
From the purple menu bar at the top of the homepage, click on "Content Type" and select "bilateral investment treaties." Then filter the results by state party. The full text of each BIT in its original language is provided and may be downloaded in PDF format. A brief English language summary ("comment") is included before the full text of each treaty. For commentary on investment treaty practices in a specific jurisdiction, including model investment treaties, select "Investment Treaty Overviews" as the Content Type. Then filter the results by jurisdiction.
- Investor-State Law Guide
Select "Treaties & Rules" from the Documents Library menu on the left side of the homepage. After the page refreshes, use the Filter by Type menu to select Bilateral Investment Treaties. BITs are listed alphabetically by country name. When you open the full text of a BIT in your browser window, you can use the tool on the left side of the page to quickly determine if a specific article or provision of the BIT has been cited or interpreted by an arbitral panel. Direct links to citing arbitral panel decisions are provided.
- Jus Mundi
Select "Treaties" as the content type from the main menu. After the page refreshes, search for the acronym BIT. Then use the filters on the right to narrow by Signatory (country), by Status, by Date of Adoption or by Date of Entry Into Force. The full text of BITs are provided in their original language(s). View in your browser window or download in PDF format.
- Kluwer Arbitration
To browse, select "Bilateral Investment Treaties" from the "Our Tools" menu in the main menu bar near the top of the homepage. After the page refreshes, use the menu on the left to narrow by jurisdiction. Alternate Path: click on the horizontal bars on the left side of the search box to display the pre-search filters. Select BITs as the Content Type. Then scroll down and select the desired jurisdiction to display a list of BITs for that country. For each BIT, Kluwer provides the date of signature, the date of entry into force, and, in most cases, a link to the full text. Note that Kluwer's database includes some BITs that are no longer in force.
- Transnational Dispute Management (TDM)
From the "Legal & Regulatory Docs" tab, click on "Search." Then scroll down and look for the link to the Advanced Search template. Select "International Treaties & Related Instruments" as the Category. Select the desired country before searching. BITs may be downloaded in PDF format.
- Westlaw
Westlaw's BIT database covers the period from 1993-present. When searching, be sure to include the name of at least one state party. BITs are available for download in PDF format. Some English translations are provided, but most treaties are in their original language(s).
Free Electronic Resources
- U.S. Departmetn of State - Bilateral Investment Treaties
The State Department maintains this directory of bilateral investment treaties to which the U.S. is a party. Links for downloading the full texts of U.S. BITs in PDF format are provided.
- UNCTAD International Investment Agreements Navigator
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) maintains the most comprehensive free online database of investment treaties. Use the menu on the left side of the screen to select a country. After the page refreshes, you will see a list of BITs to which that country is a party displayed in reverse chronological order. (Click on the "Parties" column to sort the list alphabetically by treaty partner.) An Advanced Search option and Country Navigator with a mapping tool also are available. For each BIT, UNCTAD provides information about its current status, date of signature, and date of entry into force. In almost all cases, a link to the full text of the treaty also is provided.
- ICSID Database of Bilateral Investment Treaties
ICSID's database provides basic information about each BIT, such as the date of signature and the date of entry into force, but it does not provide links to the full texts of BITS. Search or browse by party (country) or browse by year of signature. Not quite as comprehensive as UNCTAD's International Investment Agreements Navigator, but still an excellent free resource.
Print Resource
- Investment Promotion and Protection Treaties. Call No. K1112 .A49 .I58 (updated every four months)
This 13-volume loose-leaf set, compiled by ICSID, includes the full texts of investment treaties and protocols concluded by more than 165 countries from 1959 to the present. Treaties are provided in their original languages. The final volume includes complete alphabetical and chronological indexes.
