IIAs in Singapore and the rule of law promise
IIAs are known to pose various challenges to states, ranging from costly arbitration to delays or abandoning of regulatory action in the shadow of possible litigation. These important costs of IIAs raise the question of whether the treaties offer commensurate advantages to states that enter into them. Central among these claimed positive effects of IIAs is that they improve governance conditions (the rule of law) in host countries. It is on this point that Singapore’s experience with IIAs is particularly instructive. Singapore’s experience, as presented in this essay, highlights the challenges that IIAs can pose in even the best of governance environments and, in turn, raises questions as to the extent to which the treaties are calibrated to the goals that policy-makers and advocates set for them.
