The Liability of Foreign Investors to Project-Affected Local Communities in International Law

The international investment law system frequently grants corporations legal protections and the right to seek remedies in international arbitration for host-states interference with investors’ rights or interests. However, it does not impose direct liabilities on corporations for adverse human rights or environmental impacts of investment projects enforceable by affected local communities in a similar fashion. This thesis investigated whether there are general principles or concepts of international law that may apply to corporations in the context of their investment relationships with local communities that could form the basis of corporations’ liability for investment-related harms. It finds that there are.