Fair and Equitable Treatment and Legitimate Expectations in Investment Disputes

The concept of legitimate expectations plays a significant role in international investment law. Although it is only in the past roughly fifteen years that the concept has come to the spotlight, its importance and utilization is on the rise. Generally speaking, the concept of legitimate expectations, under certain conditions, allows a foreign investor to claim compensation in situations where the conduct of a host State creates a legitimate and reasonable expectation that the investor may rely on such conduct, and consequently the host State fails to fulfill those expectations, causing damages to the investor. However, the concept of protection of legitimate expectations has stirred up debates as to the legitimacy of its use in investment law and raised concerns due to its imprecise boundaries and excessively extensive interpretation. Accordingly, it is the goal of this thesis to either confirm or refute two main propositions. The first proposition suggests that the principle of protection of legitimate expectations is an established principle of investment law with traceable origins in both domestic law and general international law. The examination of the first proposition addresses theoretical roots of the concept of legitimate expectations justifying its application in investment law together..