Investment Treaty Arbitration as a Species of Global Administrative Law

The article outlines a simple thesis: that international investmentarbitration – pursuant to regional and bilateral investmenttreaties – offers the clearest example of global administrativelaw, strictly construed, yet to have emerged. We present thisthesis by explicating four key features of investment treaties:they permit investor claims against the state without exhaustinglocal remedies; they allow claims for damages; they allow investorsto directly seek enforcement of awards before domestic courts;and they facilitate forum-shopping. Our argument is that, owingto this unique conjunction of features, the regulatory conductof states is, to an unusual extent, subject to control throughcompulsory international adjudication. Having highlighted thesefeatures, we then claim that investment arbitration is bestanalogized to domestic administrative law rather than to internationalcommercial arbitration, especially since investment arbitrationengages disputes arising from the exercise of public authorityby the state as opposed to private acts of the state. Further,we claim that the linkages between investment arbitration anddomestic legal systems are more direct and more closely integratedthan other forms of international adjudication in the publicsphere. For these reasons, we argue that the emerging regimeof investment arbitration is to be understood as constitutingan important and powerful manifestation of global administrativelaw.     

A threat to Europe? Middle east ties with the Balkans and their impact upon terrorist activity throughout the region

The internecine warfare in the former Yugoslavia has radicalised many Islamic movements in the region and facilitated close links between local Balkan groups and Middle East states as well as terrorist organisations. This article examines the spread of militant Islamic fundamentalism in the Balkans as well as in Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Albania. The scope of linkages between Balkan Islamic movements and Iran pose serious concern for Western governments as a long‐term threat to any stability and democratisation in the Balkan region as it has intensified illegal activity throughout the area and heightened irredentist claims.     

Macedonia: The trouble from within

From the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia to the conflict in Bosnia, the Balkans has brought Western Europe and the United States nothing but frustration since 1990. Both analysts and policy‐makers alike have been attempting to predict the next stage of the crisis, should it spread. This brings us to the Macedonian question. While many would agree that Kosovo would likely be the next hotbed of violence, Macedonia should not be discounted. The purpose of this article then, is to demonstrate the factors that may lead to internal crisis in Macedonia. A look into the history of this republic will show that it has been, and more than likely, will continue to be a ‘bone of contention’ within the region.     

Book reviews

Giovanni Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power, and the Origins of Our Times, (Verso, London 1994). 414pp. ISBN 1–85984–015–9.

Iwen Morgan, Beyond the Liberal Consensus: A Political History of the United States, (Hurst, London 1994). 302 pp. ISBN 1–85065–204‐X.

Andrew Ross, The Chicago Gangster Theory of Life: Nature's Debt to Society, (Verso, London 1994). 308 pp. ISBN 0–86091–429–1.

S.Padgett (ed), The Development of the German Chancellorship: Adenauer to Kohl, (Hurst, London 1994). 204 pp. ISBN 1–85065–134–5.

Bryan D. Palmer, E.P. Thompson, Objections and Oppositions, (Verso, London 1994). 201 pp. ISBN 1–85984 975 X.