This book addresses concerns with the international trade and investment dispute settlement
systems from a statist perspective at a time when multilateralism is deeply questioned by the
forces of mega-regionalism and political and economic contestation. In covering recent case law
and theoretical discussions the book's contributors analyze the particularities of statehood
and the limitations of the dispute settlement systems to judge sovereign actors as autonomous
regulators.From a democratic deficit coupled with a deficit of legitimacy in relation to the
questionable professionalism independence and impartiality of adjudicators to the lack of
consistency of decisions challenging essential public policies trade and investment disputes
have proven controversial. These challenges call for a rethinking of why how and what for are
States judged. Based on a sovereignty modern approach which takes into account the latest
evolutions of a globalized trade and investment law struggling to put people's expectations at
its core the book provides a comprehensive framework and truly original perspective linking
the various facets of judicial activity to the specific yet encompassing character of
international law and the rule of law in international society. In doing so it covers a large
variety of issues such as global judicial capacity building and judicial professionalism from
an international and domestic comparative angle trade liberalisation and States' legitimate
rights and expectations to protect societal values the legal challenges of being a State
claimant the uses and misuses of imported legal concepts and principles in multidisciplinary
adjudications and lastly the need to reunify international law on a (human) rights based
approach.
