Investor Responsibility for Human Rights: the Impact of Ruggie's Guiding Principles on International Investiment Law

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of Ruggie´s “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework on international investment law in terms of investor responsibility. The approach is two-fold. First, it is argued that the framework should be the guiding principles for a multilateral investment agreement, which balances investor rights and responsibilities more adequately with regard to human rights. Second, notwithstanding the absence of such a universal agreement, Ruggie´s framework has implications on the current international investment setting. Several decisions indicate that arbitral tribunals increasingly take investor obligations into account. Although human rights have played a peripheral role in international investment arbitration, tribunals cannot ignore international human rights law per se. Given the corporate responsibility to “respect” human rights, tribunals could take Ruggie´s framework into account. In an addendum to his framework, Ruggie also provides specific guidance for negotiators of state-investor contracts. The paper tries to accommodate these ten principles for responsible negotiators within international investment arbitration.