The IIA Reform Accelerator aims to expedite the modernization of the existing stock of old-generation investment treaties. It operationalizes the idea of gradual innovation by focusing on the reform of the substantive provisions of IIAs in selected key areas.

The Accelerator focuses on eight IIA provisions that are most in need of reform, and that have seen a clear reform trend in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and towards safeguarding the State’s right to regulate in IIAs. For each provision, the IIA Reform Accelerator identifies sustainable development-oriented policy options (building on UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development 2015) and proposes ready-to-use model language that implements these options.

The Accelerator further illustrates how these options have been used in recent IIAs and model BITs. Explanatory comments accompany the model formulations to highlight their objective, provide background and explain possibilities for combining various reform options.

The reform-oriented formulations can be directly used at the national, bilateral, regional and multilateral level with a view to: (i) interpreting, (ii) amending or (iii) replacing old-generation treaties.

They can also be adapted and contribute to the ongoing collective peer learning by IIA negotiators.

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