Investor Obligations in International Investment Agreements: Exploring Responsible Foreign Investment

Traditionally, international investment agreements (IIAs) give guarantees to foreign investors, but neither contain enforceable clauses on obligations for foreign investors nor remedies for harmful investment operations. Following international instruments to promote resolutions on corporate responsibility, there has been a shift in the content of IIAs to include direct investor obligation clauses. This chapter firstly examines the concept of investor obligations clauses on which this study will rely. It then carries out a doctrinal analysis of the different types of investor obligations inserted as features in IIAs. This study investigates IIAs available to the public in the UNCTAD database as of 19 March 2025 and which were concluded between January 2008 and February 2025. It aims to map the latest legal developments in the area of investor obligations in IIAs as well as critically examine their scope, interpretation, application and enforcement with a view of fostering foreign investors’ responsibility and accountability in international investment law. To this end, despite its rarity and shortcomings, this chapter demonstrates the leadership of Global South countries in implementing investor obligations in IIAs and the fundamental role to play in increasing responsible investment and achieving objectives related to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).