Editorial: Coherence and Doctrinal Dispersal in Investment Law: Same Parties, Same Claims, a Parallel Universe?
Year: 2025
Type: editorial
Abstract: This editorial addresses the doctrinal and structural tensions affecting international investment arbitration, with a focus on the notion of res judicata and the fundamental question of whether this area of law constitutes a ‘system’ or merely mimics the characteristics of one. Drawing on the controversial case of Frenkel v. Croatia, in which the tribunal invoked res judicata in a context marked by the ambiguity of the legal identity of the claimants, the editorial reflects on the precariousness of the concepts of finality, identity and justice in the absence of a hierarchy of legal authority. On this basis, the contributions contained in the current issue of the International Investment Law Journal are analysed, which convergently shed light on the dilemmas of systemic regime coherence: estoppel and legitimate expectations (Zia Akhtar), climate policy protection and legal solidarity (Federica Cristani), comparative national regimes in Romania and Slovakia (Tiberiu Paveleșcu; Tomáš Peráček & Michal Kašššaj) and the contested example given by Tanzania (Julius Clement Mashamba). Each contribution highlights a dimension of what we mean by systemic fragmentation, but also the potential for crystallising common principles. The editorial argues that only critical and comparative reflection can transform the aspiration of a system into a normative reality.
Authors: Cristina Elena Popa Tache, Paolo Vargiu
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204129358