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Abstract

This paper investigates the multiple roles of human rights in investment law and arbitration, in particular with respect to state parties, foreign investors, and affected communities. Human rights are not only conflicting and complementary to investment treaties, but can both expand and restrict the scope of jurisdiction of investment tribunals. For states, investors, and third parties alike human rights can be used as a sword or a shield in international investment law and arbitration. By relying on historical, theoretical, and empirical insights, this paper zooms into three different roles of human rights in investment law and arbitration: human rights as obligations for states parties, human rights as defence rights and as part of an emerging responsibility for corporate actors, and human rights as tools to address structural imbalances for affected communities.