Investment Treaties

Investment treaties are agreements regarding a State’s treatment of investments made by individuals or companies from another State. They are negotiated on bilateral, multilateral and sectoral basis and may be a stand alone treaty or be part of a free trade agreement. The majority of these instruments contain provisions that allow for investor-state dispute settlement under the auspices of ICSID or for other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

ICSID has maintained a collection of Investment Treaties since early 1970s. Previously, lists of bilateral investment treaties were published by the Centre in 1989, 1992 and 1996. The ICSID online Database of Bilateral Investment Treaties is searchable by Party, particular treaty and date of signature and indicates whether a treaty makes a reference to ICSID.

ICSID’s online listing of Other Investment Treaties is a non-exhaustive compilation of international instruments concluded on multilateral or sectorial basis with relevance to international investment.