The economic development criterion has always been a controversial one in defining an investment in international investment law. Many tribunals use and support this criterion whilst others show more skepticism. In both cases, however, the arguments used by arbitral tribunals to accept or reject economic development are not always convincing, one of the reasons for this being that at no time do they explain what is meant or what they understand by development or by economic development. Under such a configuration, this article sketches that the use of this criterion is sometimes politically motivated. It nevertheless asserts that political considerations are often well-entrenched in the legal decision process and this does not necessarily imply a partial position on behalf of the tribunals.
Journal of International Arbitration