Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard as a Guarantee of International Investments

N.G. Goldenberg Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard as a Guarantee of International Investments The goal of my graduate paper is to present a comprehensive examination of The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard, one of the most powerful and far-reaching tools for international investors. The objective is to: a) examine the content of the core language: «fair and equitable treatment standard»; b) examine the origins of The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard; c) analyze the legal references to law enforcement practice and where this standard is reflected; d)reveal the interrelation of The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard with the minimum standard of treatment of aliens; e) consider the elements included in the content of The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard. Based on research and analysis, the following conclusions were made: 1) the Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard is, by far, the most frequently used defense mechanism in investment disputes; 2) the main sources of this standard are bilateral investment treaties; 3) ambivalent definitions of The FET Standard has resulted in the formation of various approaches to both its notion and scope. Some consider The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard and its reference to the minimum standard of treatment of aliens, others, recognize it as an autonomous standard; 4) equating the FET standard to the international minimum standard of treatment significantly limits the scope of rights granted to investors and establishes a high threshold of state responsibility; 5) autonomous interpretation is preferable for precise and detailed foreign investor protection. It appears to be more flexible because the standard acquires its content by means of judicial discretion. Ksenofontov Konstantin Evgenievich, S.J.C., Senior Lecturer of Department of Public and Private International Law, Faculty of Law, National Research University «The Higher School of Economics».