Having laid out the critical importance of finance to energy transitions, this chapter briefly explores the historical role of finance capital in fuelling energy booms and the growth of the fossil fuel economy, before looking at slow shifts in strategy towards a more de-stabilising role in the face of concerns about un-burnable carbon, fears about the risk of stranded assets, as well as the potential returns to be made from expanding investments in renewable energy. In the section on the political economy of finance, however, this more optimistic reading of the role of finance is nuanced by looking at the practices of finance. Finally, in the section on ecologies of finance, the chapter looks at the circulation and interconnectedness of different forms of finance, in which, despite the fetishisation of private finance, public finance still has a vital role to play in the form of aid, multilateral development bank lending and procurement. It also explores the under-acknowledged challenge for finance of energy systems which will have to restrict supply and demand if they are to be compatible with a sustainable climate future.

The OECD has worked with climate finance since the 1990s, addressing it from both a development and an investment perspective. As a knowledge-producing institution, the OECD has produced numerous reports and other publications on climate finance, which can be divided into two strands: A development strand within which the DAC has published statistics on the provision of development aid with climate objectives, and an investment strand producing analyses of how to redirect investment to green purposes. The former perspective led the OECD to frame climate finance as a subtype of development finance while stressing its economic aspects (cost-effectiveness, leveraging private finance). The latter, less important, perspective framed climate finance as an instrument for redirecting investments from 'brown' to 'green' and linked it to fossil fuel subsidy reform, carbon pricing and institutional investment policy. The OECD’s approach had an ideational influence on how both the G20 and the OECD member states addressed climate finance. The OECD’s output on climate finance was shaped by institutional interaction, the OECD worldview and the member states. The chapter finds that the consequences of OECD output at the international was most salient regarding the UNFCCC, and at the domestic levels most salient regarding the development strand.

It is well appreciated that legal systems are imbued with patterns. Given their constructed nature, use of precedent, application of principles and multitude of law-making instruments, it is unsurprising that links, repetition, practices and relationships are identified within and across legal systems; and international law is no different in that respect. As a field, it has developed at various points in line with a range of patterns as it responds to particular propositions, assertions, circumstances, events or challenges. And as it has fractured and subdivided into specialist areas, that process has been replicated, each sector of international law producing its own distinct reiterations. Clearly not the sole pattern – but certainly an especially potent one – is the centrality of property and commerce.1 When the history of international law is examined, a repeated process of right-construction can be observed and we can see that mechanisms and artificial constructs have repeatedly been developed to place property and commerce at the centre of international law. Concepts, treaties, arbitrations, even the use of language as a mechanism were all new devices, each responding to contemporary needs with a new construct: ostensibly a break or change of direction but always actually preserving core, central principles, supporting a private-rights focus in rules for international application, creating overall a continuity of approach.

The dramatic and continual increase in housing prices after 2008 was a major political issue in this period. Large interest cuts suffice to explain the growth in the price-rent ratio. Rising average income explains most of the growth in rents, which, properly calculated, was also high (though less than that of prices) in this period. Contrary to the general belief, population increase did not play much of a role. Owing to endogenous policy response, housing supply is more elastic than an institutional analysis would suggest. That response, which favoured owner-occupancy over rental, was driven mainly by the salience of the headline housing price index.

Before arbitration tribunals can decide on the merits of a case, they must first appraise whether they have jurisdiction to hear it. The establishment of jurisdiction is a complex exercise that raises numerous legal issues. To make sense of this, Chapter 14 first explains the relevant fundamental notions and principles that govern the matter and examines how jurisdiction is formally appraised. From a substantive point of view, it then delves into the key aspects and issues of jurisdiction and admissibility based on a close analysis of treaty and arbitration practices. More specifically, it examines in turn (1) the offer to arbitrate; (2) the notion and definition of ‘investment’; (3) the notion and definition of ‘investor’; and (4) the impact of investors’ conduct on jurisdiction and admissibility.

The success of Islamic-based political and economic movements is contrasted with lower rates of political and economic activity in Muslim countries. The latter -- a significant “participation gap“ -- holds even after accounting for differences at the national-level and, within countries, across individuals. Based on these two trends, the argument is made that Islamic-based movements enjoy a comparative advantage when it comes to mobilizing individuals to participate in collective political and economic activities. This helps to clarify two key research questions: What are the obstacles to political and economic participation among individuals in the Muslim world? And how do references to Islam help to address these obstacles? Three existing explanations for the Islamic advantage are reviewed, each defined in terms of how it sees the obstacle to participation and the role of Islam in alleviating it. While grievance theory holds that Islam speaks to frustrations and resentments among the poor, the faith-based theory of transvaluation argues that religious beliefs create a sense of duty to serve God, regardless of the risks involved. A final theory suggests that individuals are better informed about what they can expect from Islamic-based groups,.

This chapter describes the wide variety of duties that the office of trustee carries. At the heart of trusteeship is the duty to carry out the terms of the trust and to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries at all times. The trustees owe the beneficiaries a duty of care both under common law and statute. Trustees owe a range of duties such as to provide accounts and information and to act unanimously and impartially at all times. The common law governs the right of the beneficiaries to see trust documents in particular the case of Schmidt which held that the court can exercise its discretion as to who can see a trust document. Trustees have a duty to exercise any discretion personally. Trustees do not have to give their reasons for any decision made but where they do so the court has the right to examine the reasons. Trustees have a statutory duty to invest the trust fund and a duty to apply the standard investment criteria which includes the need to consider whether the investments are both suitable and also sufficiently diverse. A trustee has a duty to act personally but may delegate some duties. The Trustee Act 1925 gives the trustees powers to advance both income and capital to beneficiaries.

A description of the varied types of complex business structures employed by large, transnational businesses is outside the scope of this book. However, a few key facts about corporate growth and structure are important to note, given the current jurisdictional paradigm’s focus on the “home” (or in Europe, domicile) of a corporation – a paradigm that is based on outdated notions of how TNCs are structured. First, the sheer growth in number of TNCs has changed the operation of business and the resultant potential for human rights violations at the global scale. The number of TNCs – including parent companies and subsidiaries – has grown exponentially over the last fifty years. Moreover, as companies grow in size and expand overseas, the number of subsidiaries tends to increase and companies’ structures become even more complex.1 Over the last several decades, as TNCs have grown and created other corporations, they have rapidly changed form, with the emergence of complex multi-tiered corporate structures which include numerous affiliated entities that collectively conduct the business of the enterprise.2 As a result, it is difficult to determine ownership of TNCs’ various affiliated companies or to compile complete financial data on TNCs due to their complex structure, the existence of holding companies, and the fact that a subsidiary can be owned by multiple parent corporations.3 Lack of transparency surrounding ownership and existence of various TNC affiliates only exacerbates the problem.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, there was no tacit or express global agreement to reduce or eliminate dual nationality. In fact, dual nationality has proliferated since the 1970s. While the erosion of coverture globally has, for the most part, eliminated the problems faced by married women with regard to their nationality, little other progress has been made on the subject. In the postwar world, the international legal system shifted away from nationality and protection by states – embracing instead an individualist paradigm. As Eduard Benes said, ``The protection of minorities in the future should consist primarily in the defense of human democratic rights.’’ And so, alongside the Charter of the United Nations was born the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. René Cassin, one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration, like Benes, was dubious and, at times, scornful of the minorities regime. The Universal Declaration as a set of legal norms and principles, thus, should be read in the context of the rejection of group-based rights systems – particularly those dependent upon nationality as a legal status. In its place emerged a system of individualized international rights.

Recent trends suggest that international economic law may be witnessing a renaissance of convergence – both parallel and intersectional. The adjudicative process also reveals signs of convergence. These diverse claims of convergence are of legal, empirical and normative interest. Yet, convergence discourse also warrants scepticism. This volume therefore aims to contribute to both the general debate on the fragmentation of international law and the discourse concerning the interplay between international trade and investment, with a particular focus on dispute settlement. It especially seeks to move beyond broad observations or singular case studies to provide an informed and wide-reaching assessment by investigating multiple standards, processes, mechanisms and behaviours. Methodologically, a normative stance is largely eschewed in favour of a range of ‘doctrinal,’ quantitative and qualitative methods that are used to address the research questions. Furthermore, in determining the extent of convergence, it is important to recognize that there is no bright line or clear yardstick for determining its nature or degree.

While politicians, scholars, and lawyers argued about whether individuals ought to be subjects of international law and bear rights within the international order, commercial organizations, like the International Chamber of Commerce, began to advocate for the protection of property and investments at the international level. Investors, they argued, ought to be able to hale a state before a neutral tribunal in order to defend their property rights. While refugees did not have access to international courts or tribunals to defend their rights in the interwar period, commercial organizations increasingly did.

In Chapter 1, John Borrows argues that the resurgence of Indigenous peoples’ law means that agreements are being evaluated against criteria which are not just formed by nation states or international instruments. The emergence of Indigenous normativity as an aspect of international investment and trade thus challenges communities and investors who must negotiate this new terrain. In making these points, Professor Borrows examines the role of Indigenous peoples’ law in implementing international investment and trade, including the impact of domestic law in recognizing and affirming Indigenous constitutional and statutory protections.