Las inversiones extranjeras, el desarrollo sostenible y el derecho humano al agua: un conflicto no resuelto

Abstract

Certainly, Foreign Investments Law has been developed in the last twenty five years, although it appeared after Second World War. This branch of Law basically consists on almost three thousand bilateral investment Treaties (BITs) dealing with the protection of foreign investors. Those BITs allow international corporations to challenge social, environmental, economic and even human rights Law in their host countries, when they consider that their investments are at risk. This imbalance of interests has been posible because the BIT’s disputes resolution systems allow foreign investors to sue sovereign States before arbitration courts, avoiding local jurisdiction. Such actions have damaged the economic stability of those host States that have signed BIT’s to improve their sustainable development indexes -something impossible to achive for their poor economies- even sacrifying their own souvereignity. This problem will be briefly shown here, focused on the human right to the water.