Reform of International Investment Law

examines the ongoing UNCITRAL Working Group III reform process from the perspective of Caribbean small island developing states, analysing how proposed reforms to both procedural and substantive aspects of investor-state dispute settlement could address the structural asymmetries that have rendered these nations particularly vulnerable to costly arbitral awards. The chapter argues that while Caribbean states have been largely disengaged from the reform process despite their acute exposure to regulatory chill, the proposed Advisory Centre, Multilateral Instrument, Standing Mechanism, and procedural reforms offer critical opportunities to rebalance the investor-state relationship in favour of legitimate regulatory objectives. Drawing on recent Caribbean arbitration cases and innovative treaty models like the Guyana-Brazil BIT, the analysis contends that comprehensive reform of both procedural frameworks and substantive investment standards is essential to transform international investment law from a colonial-era system that constrains regulatory autonomy into a balanced framework that protects both investor rights and state sovereignty.