Investor protection in the NAFTA and beyond

On the cover: the World Trade Organization symbol and the flags of the three NAFTA countries: Canada, the United States and Mexico. [...] In the summer of 2000 I approached Jack Mintz — a friend and colleague and the CEO of the C. D. Howe Institute — to suggest that the Institute examine the question of investor protection. [...] The early part of the conference focused on what I call in this volume the xi micro aspects of investment protection, including the substantive and procedural aspects of NAFTA Chapter 11 itself as well as the arbitral and legal decisions and interpretations of the Chapter 11 cases. [...] This action undertaken by the trade ministers of the NAFTA parties, pursuant to Chapter 11, sought to clarify a number of provisions including the meaning of the minimum standard of treatment and the provisions for transparency under Chapter 11. [...] As we will see, the controversy of private rights in the context of public purpose and objectives has not only been raised in the NAFTA context, but more recently has been extended in regional trade and investment negotiations such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Southern Cone Commo