Contour of Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanism A Crucial Analysis of its Purview and Impact on the Sustainability of the Extractive Industries in Cameroon

This paper x rays the primordial role of the investor state dispute settlement ISDS mechanisms in fostering international cooperation for economic development, especially in the extractive industries EI . As it provides a forum for investors to bring claims against States and vice versa. The ICSID Convention maintains a careful balance between the interests of the investors and those of the host States as the Convention permits the institution of proceedings by both the host States and the investors. However, the evolution of the international investment system has transformed this broadly conceived forum into a relatively unilateral forum. Since under the current system, the best a Respondent State can hope for is that the investor covers their legal costs. With the investors having much to gain, while the States have everything to lose. As such, any successful State counterclaims and claims can serve as a deterrent to any frivolous claim from the investors, thus, providing the Respondent States with a motive to bypass jurisdictional objections and move straight to the merits. In this vein, the right granted to the private parties, to effectively sue a sovereign State for breaches of “acquired rights” granted in contracts, international investment agreements IIAs , and customary international law, has been called, by both the opponents and proponents, as the pulling down of the State to the same level as a private party. Despite ICSID permission and encouragement of State counterclaims, most State counterclaims in ISDS always fail because of the narrow interpretations of the counterclaim jurisdictional requirements, as well as the lack of substantive protections for States in contracts and IIAs. On this account, the paper also considers the effectiveness of ISDS and enforcement in Cameroon, and the ISDS proceedings under the OHADA system. Which in pursuant to the global recognition of arbitration as a predominant ISDS mechanism and the concomitant growth in the normative and institutional frameworks regulating the conduct of investment arbitration, created the Common Court for Justice and Arbitration CCJA and adopted the Uniform Act on Arbitration as the lex loci arbitri for all arbitration proceedings conducted within the OHADA zone. Although investors are still sceptical about such ISDS mechanisms because they are afraid of its legal and judicial uncertainty and insecurity – thus, prompting them to anchor at the ICSID. That being the case, the paper examines these issues by first cascading the spectrum and implications of the investment dispute settlement mechanisms – by focusing on the rights and obligations of the parties of an ISDS process, and then tackling the purview and impact of investment dispute settlement and enforcement framework in Cameroon, by examining the alternative mechanisms that can enhance sustainability in its EI. Bande Gulbert Mbah Tarh "Contour of Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanism: A Crucial Analysis of its Purview and Impact on the Sustainability of the Extractive Industries in Cameroon" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-5 , October 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd59868.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/law-and-management/59868/contour-of-investment-dispute-settlement-mechanism-a-crucial-analysis-of-its-purview-and-impact-on-the-sustainability-of-the-extractive-industries-in-cameroon/bande-gulbert-mbah-tarh