Legal challenges to the protection of foreign investment in light of states' international commitment to control the outbreak of infectious diseases; A case study on Covid-19

Covid-19 has encountered the global economy with numerous challenges, including foreign investments. States are obliged under international law for the health and security of their citizens. However, measures taken to secure public health in the face of a disease outbreak have caused many losses to investment activities. Governments are tossed up between the protection of public health and foreign investment, and they often choose the former and adopt necessary measures. Through a descriptive-analytical method, this article tends to answer the key question that “what are the legal aspects of foreign investments that have suffered losses, and how all these measures adopted by states are legally justified?”. Therefore, after an introduction to the crisis, in three chapters, the States' international commitment to control infectious diseases, legal dimensions of foreign investment, and the legal challenges of dispute resolution are analyzed. Finally, it is concluded that the States are committed to controlling the spread of infectious diseases under the international health regulations and the core human rights instruments. Therefore, declaring a state of emergency and other restrictions are not only justifiable but also the part of an international commitment. However, these measures expose foreign investments to unprecedented damages. The overflow of the investment claims is considered a serious threat to the receiving States. Considering the present uncertainty, due to the lack of recorded judgments by international courts and tribunals on this issue, IIAs, customary international law, and the rules of responsibility of States will eventually shape the foundations of the decisions of authorities.