Foreign Investment Protection in Kosovo

By Anjeze Gojani

Abstract

Kosovo is an emerging economy and capital importing country, which declared its independence just over a decade ago. Due to its long-unresolved statehood status, the economic development goals were for many years overlooked. Despite the realistic lack of efforts in fulfilling the goal of economic growth, the legal framework for the protection of foreign investment and international investment agreements was nonetheless constructed. The paper defends the hypothesis that there is no direct correlation between investor protections and increased investment flows. It demonstrates that instead, the undertaking of international obligations by the country is tied to unanticipated costs and unproven benefits. Consequently, the paper demonstrates the necessity of revisiting Kosovo investment treaty platform. To do so, the paper will provide an overview of Kosovo’s bilateral investment treaties with regards to substantive obligations and procedural remedies available to investors, principally through distinguishing the most obvious provisions which lead to increased risk of claims. Furthermore, it will discuss certain provisions of the national investment law which potentially amplify the exposure of the country to investment claims. Through this review, including the discussion of solutions as chosen by some countries, the paper will conclude with recommendations.