After the explosive expansion of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITS) in the 90s, recent times have seen  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  new  annual  BITs  (UNCTAD  2012).  With  rising  number, prominence  and  success  of  BIT  claims, there  is  an  increasing realisation that  traditional  BITs  put undue risk on the host nations without obligating the investors to follow the measures necessary for  ensuring  the  development  requirements  of  the  host  state  (Friedman  and  Verhoosel  2003).

Known investor state dispute settlement cases have increased dramatically in the last 15 years to reach  608  cases  in  2014  from  a level of  around 50  cases  in 2000  (UNCTAD  2015).  The  gravity of the  situation  is  conveyed  by  the  huge  amount  of  claims  made  by  the  investor  litigants  that  put host states in serious fiscal strain.

Report by Economic Research Southern Africa