CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

ONDŘEJ SVOBODA CYIL 11 (2020) INVESTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES BEYOND INVESTMENT

TREATIES: A WORKAROUND TO BALANCE THE INVESTMENT PROTECTION REGIME Ondřej Svoboda 1

Abstract: It is often argued that international investment law and broader societal concerns, such as human rights, environment or sustainable development are two distinctive categories. However, recent developments offer a different perspective. Increasing openness of the investment community to incorporate non-commercial values in new investment agreements and to consider investors’ adverse behaviour in ISDS disputes is complemented by numerous initiatives at the domestic as well as international levels. This contribution provides an overview and analysis of the development considering the current state of play in the field of business and human rights as well as responsible business conduct. Based on the presented evidence, the contribution argues that we are witnessing the emergence of pluralistic regime of investor’ responsibilities. Resumé: Často se uvádí, že mezinárodní investiční právo a širší společenské zájmy jako lid- ská práva, životní prostředí nebo udržitelný rozvoj jsou dvě samostatné kategorie. Nedávný vývoj nicméně nabízí jinou perspektivu. Rostoucí otevřenost investiční komunity zahrnovat nekomerční hodnoty do nových investičních dohod a zohledňovat škodlivé chování investo- rů při řešení investičních sporů je doprovázeno dalšími iniciativami. Tento příspěvek posky- tuje přehled a analýzu tohoto vývoje při zvážení aktuálního stavu na poli byznysu a lidských práv stejně jako odpovědného obchodního chování. Na základě uvedených skutečností, ten- to příspěvek tvrdí, že jsme svědky vzniku pluralistického režimu odpovědnosti investorů. Key words: Investment protection; Investment treaty; Responsible business conduct; Corporate social responsibility; Due diligence; Human rights arbitration rules About the Author: Mgr. Bc. Ondřej Svoboda, Ph.D. serves as an officer at the Unit of International Law of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and teaches public international law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University. He graduated from the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. From 2009 to 2010 he studied international relations and politics at the University of Kent as part of the Erasmus programme. In 2019, he attended the Academy of International Economic Affairs of Ministry of Economic Affairs of Republic of China and the International Visitor Leadership Programme organised by the U.S. Department of State. His main fields of interests include international investment law, WTO law and the European Union’s trade policy. 1. Introduction Big investment projects often involve a number of actors and entail a multiplicity of rights and obligations where a foreign investor protection rights and states’ right to regulate 1 This article was supported by the Charles University, project UNCE – Human Rights Research Centre, UNCE/ HUM/011. The opinions expressed in this article do not represent an official position of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and are just and only the authors’ own. The author acknowledges gratefully valuable comments from Jan Kunstýř in the writing of this article.

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