Gabriel Cavazos Villanueva

The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard: in International Investment Law: the Mexican Experience Gabriel Cavazos Villanueva

This book analyzes the Mexican experience withrespect to the application of one of the mostcontroversial standards in international investmentlaw: the obligation to provide a fair and equitabletreatment (FET) to foreign investors. A hypothesis ofthis book is that it is not appropriate to define anormative content of the FET standard by onlydiscussing the host country measures taken,allegedly, against a foreign investor. Rather, in theanalysis of different cases involving Mexico, theperceived conduct of the foreign investor could beused by the host country as a defense in allegationsof FET violations. According with this book, this isthe only approach that seeks to find a balancebetween the investors? rights and the legitimatedomestic public policies of the host country. This book analyzes the factual circumstances andlegal allegations marshaled by the parties in thosecases involving Mexico, and highlights thedifferences in the construction of the FET standardmade by the tribunals in the cases resolved In theNAFTA context, and those settled in the framework ofthe Bilateral Investment Treaties.