Features of international investment arbitration and its distinctions from international commercial arbitration

This article conducts a comparative analysis of two types of international arbitration - investment arbitration and commercial arbitration - considering the nature of the dispute as the primary material-legal criterion for distinguishing between international commercial arbitration and international investment arbitration. The relevance of the topic is underscored by the current lack of a unified approach to key issues of arbitration and a clear classification of material-legal criteria for differentiating the aforementioned types of arbitration. Consequently, there arises a necessity to investigate the concept of international investment arbitration as one of the alternative methods of dispute resolution, as well as to analyze the similarities and differences between international investment arbitration and international commercial arbitration for the purpose of determining the applicable legal sources. The aim of this article is the characteristics of investment arbitration as an institution for examining investment disputes within the realms of public and private competencies, along with the essence of its process, taking into account the specific nature of the parties’ agreement under an international investment treaty for the resolution of disputes in investment arbitration. The topic reflects the problem of legal regulation and the search for alternative approaches to the resolution of disputes arising from investment relations. Since investment arbitration arises in the process of exercising State power, it usually affects issues of State and public interest that go far beyond the issues arising from the entry of the State into commercial relations. Investment arbitration exists in the public sphere and serves as a unique form of mechanism for protecting the rights of foreign investors, based on a private model of judicial proceedings. The objective of this work is to analyze the distinctions between investment arbitration and commercial arbitration, which, despite their apparent similarities, are crucial for both domestic legal systems and international law. The methodology employed includes comparative, formal-legal, and analytical methods.