The Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC is delighted to announce the publication of International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues, coedited by Kiran Nasir Gore, Elijah Putilin, Kabir A.N. Duggal and Crina Baltag. The book is published by Kluwer Law International and available in print and digital versions as of December 2022. The book draws on the experiences of the five Central Asian States – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – to present a unique case study for the nexus between international investment law, investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases, and their impacts on the development of future global trade and investment environments. This book’s seventeen chapters, contributed by globally renowned practitioners and scholars, provide the first consolidated and systematic overview of all aspects of international investment law and investor-State disputes involving the Central Asian region, including focus on domestic investment law frameworks, investment treaties, substantive protections as provided by those treaties, and developments arising out of specific investment treaty arbitrations and resulting awards. In light of ongoing reform initiatives, it supports understanding of how regional experiences and trends may inform global discussions.

What’s in this book:

This book builds on the historic and ongoing strategic importance of Central Asia to international trade and international investment to elucidate key insights into needs and concerns that are unique to the region while also offering globally relevant analyses. It draws on the Central Asian experience to address, among other topics:

– approaches to foreign direct investment and domestic investment legislation;

– jurisdictional questions arising in investment treaty arbitration, such as the notion of ‘investor’ and the definition of ‘investment’; the interpretation of investment treaties and the role of international and domestic law;

– substantive and procedural rights of foreign investors, with a focus on guarantees against expropriation and most-favoured nation and fair and equitable treatment standards;

– arbitral awards, as well as grounds and procedures for their enforcement and annulment;

– the state-of-play for allegations of corruption and fraud once a dispute has arisen; and

– emerging challenges and opportunities in light of ongoing reform initiatives.

How this will help you:

This book establishes that the Central Asian experience should be taken into consideration in any comprehensive and robust discussion on the future of international investment law and ISDS and how these frameworks may be improved, reformed and remain fit for purpose. It is an essential tool for practitioners, arbitrators, government officials, and scholars who may look to the Central Asian experience to understand the advantages and disadvantages of differing approaches to international investment law and treaty-making for future ISDS advocacy, decision-making and scholarship.

Below are selected pre-publication reviews: 

“The editors have put together a fascinating book that examines the full range of jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues in international investment law, but through the lens of Central Asian States. The result is both a comprehensive overview of investment law in the Central Asian region, and a unique examination of how investment instruments and cases involving these States have contributed to the development of international investment law writ large and will continue to play an important role in the evolution of international investment law and procedure. This unique vantage point makes this volume especially interesting and readers will certainly take away many insights from this unique approach.”

Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

“Whether you want a detailed understanding of how the Central Asian States have managed and fared in investment treaty arbitrations or how their arbitrations have contributed to the overall evolution of ISDS, this book will take you there. The editors and authors – some (appropriately) sharing their experience in cases without published awards – are to be commended for this first comprehensive overview of international investment law and ISDS in the region.”

Lucy Reed, International Arbitrator & President of International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)

“Sometimes when a book appears, one wonders how one managed without it. Such is the case here. This book offers a brilliant account of contemporary international investment arbitration in an arena – Central Asia – that, in light of its fast-growing salience, has received too little attention. Drawing upon the expertise of the most outstanding figures in the field, the editors have produced a comprehensive and magisterial – but altogether readable – work that is immediately indispensable.”

Professor George Bermann, Gellhorn Professor of Law and Monnet Professor in European Union Law,  Columbia Law School, Independent Arbitrator

“Kiran Nasir Gore, Kabir A.N. Duggal, Elijah Putilin and Crina Baltag’s book International Investment Law and Investor-State Disputes in Central Asia: Emerging Issues is a brilliant and timely contribution to legal scholarship on topical issues that are of regional and global importance. This publication is a prodigious corpus intellectualis for all scholars, practitioners and stakeholders with interest in international investment law and ISDS. While the book explores local and regional flavours pertaining to international investment law and investor-State disputes in five Central Asian States, it offers unique vantage points that demonstrate that the Central Asian experience is indeed relevant to global stakeholders. The book valiantly tackles and analyzes hot topics and critical issues by leading authors whose experience, expertise and wisdom are much applauded. This is a must-have publication that will serve as a leading guide for many years to come and will no doubt significantly contribute to the global ISDS discourse.”

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab,  Zulficar & Partners Law Firm

“Despite the significant involvement of the Central Asian states in ISDS proceedings, there has been a dearth of scholarship dedicated to the experiences and the approaches to international investment law and arbitration of those states. This book fills the gap. Under the guidance of distinguished editors, a stellar line-up of authors explores comprehensively the system of foreign investments protection in the region and the investment arbitration practice and procedures in cases involving Central Asian states. I am confident that this book will become an important, even indispensable, resource for all interested in the field and the region.”

Stanimir A. Alexandrov, International Arbitrator

“The distinguished editors have brought together a full suite of regional experts to publish a complete exposition of the State and public law structures underpinning the rise and reach of investor law and its disputes mechanisms. It comprehensively covers history and sources through to the practical workings and operation of investment disputes under treaty-based jurisdiction, and the substantive and procedural rights leading to determinations and awards and on to their recognition and enforcement. The concluding chapters canvas contemporary developments, particularly through UNCITRAL. This seminal work stands to emerge as the complete and authoritative handbook on the subject matter, both by content and by author, illuminating to its four corners a new field hitherto lightly occupied by scattered writings within Central Asia.”

Gavan Griffith KC, International Arbitrator