The Function of Arbitral Tribunals in the Development of Human Rights Obligations of the Investors

Abstract: What is often more important in the international investment agreements between a private investor and the host country is to ensure the investors' economic security in the host country. However, recently, one of the concerns in most of these agreements is human rights. Then one of the host country's obligations is the observance of human rights obligations. The problem is that investors are not obliged to comply with human rights obligations. Meanwhile, arbitral tribunals have tried to establish duties for the investor in the host country by relying on international principles and rules, such as balanced interpretation of the agreements. In this case, even though the human rights obligations of investors do not explicitly mention in the agreements, with their violation, investors are held responsible. Apart from analysing these principles in this research, the main purpose is to analyse the arbitration position in identifying the human rights obligations of the investor and acceptance of these awards between the legal scholarships and countries. Also, I analyse whether both parties of the investment agreement are committed to human rights or whether this commitment is merely addressed to the host country.