Investment Rules and the Rule of Law

In: Constellations: an international journal of critical and democratic theory, Volume 8, Issue 4, p. 521-537

Abstract

In contrast to arguments that the rule of law is breaking down under globalization, it is argued here that laws & structures associated with economic globalization constitute a rule of law regime in insulating certain key aspects of economic life from political pressure. Principal legal rules for the protection of foreign investment that is intended to freeze out politics are discussed. As an alternative to the neoliberal formulation of property rights & the rule of law, the positions of Weimar legal theorists on the rule of law, the generality requirement, & property rights are discussed. The current rule of law project in the investment regime would serve similar functions to the rule of law in the Weimar Republic. However, attempts to have the rule of law act as a resource of social movements, contesting the influence of dominant capitalists, may fail, as it did in the Weimar constitution. Thus, democratic forms are cautioned against embracing the rule of law at this time. M. Pflum