A/70/301 Such expectations are linked to dominant development paradigms, which identify foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade liberalization as strong drivers for GDP growth. 13. International investment agreements seek to provide substantive rights to investors that protect against expropriatory, unfair and discriminatory conduct by States hosting investment projects. While there is some variety among the agreements, international investment agreements often take a fairly standard format and many countries have model bilateral investment treaties that they use as a basis for negotiating such agreements. The standard terms within investment and free trade agreements include provisions relating to stabilization, expropriation, fair and equitable treatment and non-discriminatory treatment: (a) Stabilization provisions are “choice of law” clauses that commonly stipulate which country’s laws will govern the parameters of investment projects. The provisions also commonly including language indicating that any future changes in such laws cannot be retroactively applied in a way that disadvantages the investor; (b) Expropriation clauses seek to limit the impact of Government agencies taking property for public purposes from foreign investment projects. Investor agreements tend to specify that any expropriation undertaken relating to investment projects must be in the public interest, non-discriminatory and compensated for at a market rate; (c) Fair and equitable treatment clauses are a core part of investment agreements. They are broad provisions that have been interpreted to compel States to act “consistently, transparently, reasonably, without ambiguity, arbitrariness or discrimination, in an even-handed manner, to ensure due process in decision-making and respect investors’ legitimate expectations”.5 Fair and equal treatment clauses have, for example, been used to challenge taxation increases and Government attempts to regulate harmful products such as tobacco (see A/HRC30/44, paras. 25-27); (d) Non-discriminatory treatment clauses specify that foreign investors from the home country should be guaranteed treatment that is equal to nationals from the host State and other third-party nationals. 14. Alongside the investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms, discussed below, the provisions collectively convey a strong set of rights to investors, which have significant and varied implications for indigenous rights and also affect the related protective capacities of States. C. Investor-State dispute settlements 15. One significant feature of investment and free trade agreements are provisions which provide for the establishment of investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms. Those allow investors to challenge States for perceive d violations of their rights under international investment agreements within binding arbitration mechanisms. There is a range of arbitral forums, each with their own rules, __________________ 5 15-12526 See Fair and Equitable Treatment, UNCTAD Series on Issues in International Investment Agreements II (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.11.II.D.15). 7/24