29 January, 2016
Against the background of various claims against the Government under BITs, the Government published a new draft model BIT (the "Draft BIT") in early 2015, as discussed previously here. The Government has now published the final version of the model BIT (the "Model BIT"), which will be used as a template for future BIT negotiations. The complete text of the Model BIT is available here.
The Draft BIT sought to strictly limit the protections afforded to foreign investors seemingly as a reaction to the BIT claims that India has been faced with over the last few years. Whilst the Model BIT represents an improvement over the Draft BIT, the extent to which the Model BIT provides meaningful protection to foreign investors remains questionable.
For further information, please contact:
Nicholas Peacock, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
nicholas.peacock@hsf.com
