CYIL vol. 16 (2025)

MICHAŁ PYKA The possibilities of ascribing a ‘sustainable’ meaning to the notion of investment are obviously more remote in case of these, still numerous, investment treaties that do not contain express preambular references to sustainable development. 133 Nevertheless, it could be argued that the ordinary meaning of the notion of ‘economic development’, commonly used in preambles to investment treaties 134 and present in the preamble to the ICSID Convention 135 , implies that the economic development should be sustainable. The proposed approach to the interpretation of preambular references to ‘economic development’ could have a bearing on the interpretation of the notion of investment in relevant definitions of investment and in Article 25 of the ICSID Convention, since preambular references to ‘economic development’ constitute interpretative context for the notion of investment as the part of the object and purpose of the treaty 136 . While interpreting the notion of ‘economic development’, it might be argued that, in the long-time perspective, economic development is not possible without sustainability, since unsustainable economic development leads to running out of natural resources, degradation of the environment, worsening of labour and health conditions, etc. If assumed that investment protection is designed to protect long term engagement of investors in host states, which appears to be warranted by the ‘duration’ requirement, present as a constitutive feature of an investment in many definitions of investment in investment treaties 137 and in arbitral jurisprudence, which increasingly often adopts the three-elementary version of the Salini test 138 , it could be plausible to require from an investment that it lasts for a specific period of time, within which it contributes to the sustainable economic development of the host state. Interpretation of the notion of investment in light of preambular references to ‘economic development’, understood as ‘sustainable economic development’, could bring substantial benefits to investment arbitration. Typical preambular formulations of investment treaties concentrate rather on increased inflow of investments to host states. Economic development, despite its frequent preambular application, is perceived rather as the subsidiary purpose of investment treaties, while the increased flow of investments and promotion of investment remain the primary purposes, which seems to favour the interests of investors rather than host states. 139 Rejection in arbitral jurisprudence of the Salini element of contribution to 133 See groups 1–3 of the groups of treaties identified within Section Three. 137 See the second group of investment treaties identified within Section Three, which merges no preambular reference to sustainable development with the use of Salini test, including the element of duration of an investment. Cf the 5–7 groups of investment treaties, which apply both preambular references to sustainable development and the Salini test, including the element of duration of an investment. 138 See n 54. 139 DOLZER, Rudolf, ‘The notion of investment in recent practice’, in CHARNOVITZ, Steve, STEGER, Debra P., VAN DEN BOSSCHE, Peter (eds), Law in the Service of Human Dignity Essays in Honour of Florentino Feliciano (CUP 2005) 261, 272. Cf ASCENSIO, Hervé, ‘Article 31 of the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties and International Investment Law’ (2016) 31 ICSID Review 366, 370: ‘ In this regard, an often-repeated criticism addressed to investment tribunals is an overvaluation of the protection of foreign investment as the main purpose of investment treaties, leading to a pro-investor bias when interpreting a vague term or expression ’. See, however, BALTAG and DAUTAJ (n 40) 48, who asserts that in reality of investment arbitration, investor-bias is unsubstantiated, since investors do not at all come out as huge winners in the vast majority of investment disputes. Cf MCLACHLAN, Campbell, ‘Investment Treaties and General International Law’ (2008) 2 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 361, 371. 134 See n 41. 135 See n 33. 136 See n 128.

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