Reconfiguring Territoriality in International Economic Law

Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 2016, (2017), Forthcoming

54 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2017

See all articles by Alessandra Arcuri

Alessandra Arcuri

Erasmus School of Law; Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity

Federica Violi

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law; Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza; University of Milan

Date Written: November 08, 2016

Abstract

Recent scholarship in international law has studied the phenomenon of deterritorialization and, in this context, has framed territoriality and functionality as competing modes of organizing the global political order. In this article, we challenge this vision by exploring the hypothesis that territoriality and functionality, rather than mere substitutes or competitors, impart meaning to each other. To test this hypothesis, we identify different modes by which functionality and territoriality interact in the reconfiguration of the international legal space, and in particular in the trade and investment regimes.

In the context of international trade law, we show how territoriality is multiplied, and how it gives meaning to functionality at the intersection of the trade regime and regimes for the protection of health and environment. We further develop the idea of the emergence of techno-territoriality, where norms allegedly promoting global technocracy are being shaped by territoriality.

The analysis of the international investment regime engages with the threats that contractual clauses exert on territoriality in the context of investment operations, the significance of the territorial nexus requirement in the definition of investment, when intangible financial instruments are involved, as well as the ‘international-territoriality’ mode conveyed by the activities of sovereign investors abroad. We conclude by arguing that territoriality is not subsumed by functionality, but is rather undergoing a process of transformation into ‘non-modern’ territoriality: the reassertion of territoriality in investment and trade regimes, albeit in different forms, should be looked at as a positive development to keep alive the ‘public’ core of international law.

Keywords: Territoriality, Functionality, WTO law, International Investment Law, Techno-territoriality, Extraterritoriality, Stabilization clauses, Sovereign Investors

JEL Classification: K32, K33, K39

Suggested Citation

Arcuri, Alessandra and Violi, Federica, Reconfiguring Territoriality in International Economic Law (November 08, 2016). Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 2016, (2017), Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2898250

Alessandra Arcuri (Contact Author)

Erasmus School of Law; Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity ( email )

Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://alessandraarcuri.com

Federica Violi

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law ( email )

3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza ( email )

Piazza Pugliatti, 1
Messina, 98122
Italy

University of Milan

Via Festa del Perdono, 7
Milan, 20122
Italy

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