From Investor Protection to Balancing Host States' Interests: The Evolution of BRICS' Approach to Bilateral Investment Treaties

This article discusses the emergent BRICS investment model, which is in stark contrast to traditional paradigms of international investment governance underpinned by neoliberal orthodoxy. Led by the BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, this new model embodies a paradigm anchored on equity, sustainable growth, and national sovereignty. The model seeks to accord a proper allocation of investment gains. It therefore incorporates best practices that aim to provide distributive equity, with regard for the rights of host states and local communities. Equally, it embeds pledges to sustainable development, with an express reference in its treaties to the protection of the environment and human rights in line with the UN's SDGs. Challenging the existing ISDS norms, the BRICS framework upholds the regulatory autonomy of states to achieve public policy objectives with less constraint by foreign investors. Institutions like the New Development Bank epitomize how BRICS has been committed to financing sustainable development projects and hence operationalized its philosophy in investment. The BRICS model thus has the potential to shape the future of global investment governance, pressing toward a new order based on mutual benefit, shared prosperity, and sustainable practices. This will have implications beyond BRICS nations; greater coalitions of developing countries could be inspired by these findings to replicate similar frameworks, shifting the needle on the global economic world. Situated within the greater discourse of international investment law, this article has examined the transformative role of the BRICS model in fostering a more egalitarian and ecologically conscious investment environment.

کلیدواژه ها:

BRICS ، Investment model ، Sustainable development ، International investment governance