This Thesis explores the relationship between the more centralized system of the WTO and that of international investment law (IIL), characterized by institutional and legal fragmentation. The former stands for the embedded liberalism; the latter provides protection for foreign investors. IIL and the WTO have been widely perceived as two separate legal fields for structural, institutional and historical reasons. This Thesis shows that this paradigm of divergence has had a possibly negative impact on the adjustment of the jurisprudence to the overlapping standards in times of rapid globalization. Various factors are analysed to make a case for convergence of the two legal fields, including procedural and substantive legal provisions, common micro norms (i.e. national treatment and most-favoured-nation principle) and the cross-imported mechanisms of both systems. The newly emerged standards from converging fields are regularly incorporated into regional and other newer generation FTAs, the latter covering both trade and investment issues. This Thesis suggests that the convergence of IIL and the WTO has a positive impact on the EU trade arena by providing practical solutions for the EU trade negotiations. It also contributes to development of cross-fertilized jurisprudence in both systems by creating harmonised substantive standards applicable in recent EU FTAs. With a view to preserving the fragile division of competences between the EU and its Member States in trade and investment issues, further mechanisms of EU law are explored. Where relevant, special consideration is given to the jurisprudence of international dispute settlement bodies in both systems.
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