Originally from The American Review of International Arbitration  (ARIA)

BOOK REVIEWS

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Investor-State Disputes: History, Evolution, and Future, Esmé Shirlow and Kiran Nasir Gore, eds. Kluwer Law International, 2022. Pp. 744.

The role of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“VCLT”) in investment law and arbitration is a topic of utmost importance in the decision-making process of arbitral tribunals. It is also important in understanding the place of investment law within public international law, and in understanding the interaction of investment law with other areas of international law. The recently published book edited by Esmé Shirlow and Kiran Nasir Gore, The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in Investor-State Disputes: History, Evolution, and Future (the “Book”),  is an exceptional tool for counsel, arbitrators and legal experts practicing in investment law and arbitration, as well as for those focusing broadly on public international law. As explained by the editors, the book addresses the VCLT’s rules as they have been invoked, interpreted, and applied in investment law and arbitration either by States in their treaty-making processes, by arbitral tribunals in their decision-making process, or by counsel in arguing a certain position in arbitrations. As “2019 marked the VCLT’s golden jubilee—50 years—since it was opened for signature, and 2020 marked the fortieth anniversary of the VCLT’s entry into force,” these milestones offer the proper opportunity to address the VCLT’s rich and nuanced presence in investment law and arbitration.