Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration
The purpose of the present thesis is to provide an overview of the legal position of state shareholders in International Investment Arbitration in case of shareholders' claims for reflective loss deriving from commercial investments. The reflective loss principle refers to direct claims brought by s...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Department of Commercial Law
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613220960731136 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes |
| author2 | Adams, Faadhil |
| author_browse | Adams, Faadhil Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes |
| author_facet | Adams, Faadhil Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes |
| author_sort | Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The purpose of the present thesis is to provide an overview of the legal position of state shareholders in International Investment Arbitration in case of shareholders' claims for reflective loss deriving from commercial investments. The reflective loss principle refers to direct claims brought by shareholders who have suffered a reduction in their shares' value due to actions of the company or a third party. Claims for reflective loss raised by private investors against the host state are often admissible in International Investment Arbitration, although they are generally not accepted under domestic law. The assessment of the treatment of state shareholders' claims for reflective loss under the current investment treaties, with the focus placed on the procedural restrictions, deriving mostly from the ICSID Convention at the arbitration stage, demonstrates an imbalance between private and state shareholders when they both act as claimants. The reasons for the imbalance lie in restrictions for state shareholders originating from: a) the protection scope and aim of International Investment Arbitration, b) the limited amount of fora available to state investors and c) the insufficient protection of state investors under the investment treaties. Based on the existing international investment law and jurisprudence as well as on the domestic law of 10 jurisdictions, the current (international) legal framework on the admissibility of claims for reflective loss made by the state shareholder against the host state is being presented. The potential impact on the host state is considered in relation to the enhancement of the position of the state as a claimant in International Investment Arbitration. In terms of a holistic approach to the issue, the risks that commercial investments made by state entities impose on host states are also being analysed. The identified risks for the host state derive from a) public interest concerns and b) the state shareholder's immunity from execution in case the host state wins the case and needs to enforce the arbitral decision on costs against the state shareholder. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42681 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:41.376Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Department of Commercial Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Commercial Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42681 The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes Adams, Faadhil Yeats , Jacqueline reflective loss state shareholder host state international investment arbitration ICSID arbitration state immunity The purpose of the present thesis is to provide an overview of the legal position of state shareholders in International Investment Arbitration in case of shareholders' claims for reflective loss deriving from commercial investments. The reflective loss principle refers to direct claims brought by shareholders who have suffered a reduction in their shares' value due to actions of the company or a third party. Claims for reflective loss raised by private investors against the host state are often admissible in International Investment Arbitration, although they are generally not accepted under domestic law. The assessment of the treatment of state shareholders' claims for reflective loss under the current investment treaties, with the focus placed on the procedural restrictions, deriving mostly from the ICSID Convention at the arbitration stage, demonstrates an imbalance between private and state shareholders when they both act as claimants. The reasons for the imbalance lie in restrictions for state shareholders originating from: a) the protection scope and aim of International Investment Arbitration, b) the limited amount of fora available to state investors and c) the insufficient protection of state investors under the investment treaties. Based on the existing international investment law and jurisprudence as well as on the domestic law of 10 jurisdictions, the current (international) legal framework on the admissibility of claims for reflective loss made by the state shareholder against the host state is being presented. The potential impact on the host state is considered in relation to the enhancement of the position of the state as a claimant in International Investment Arbitration. In terms of a holistic approach to the issue, the risks that commercial investments made by state entities impose on host states are also being analysed. The identified risks for the host state derive from a) public interest concerns and b) the state shareholder's immunity from execution in case the host state wins the case and needs to enforce the arbitral decision on costs against the state shareholder. 2026-01-26T09:28:07Z 2026-01-26T09:28:07Z 2025 2026-01-26T09:25:57Z Thesis / Dissertation Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42681 en eng application/pdf Department of Commercial Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | reflective loss state shareholder host state international investment arbitration ICSID arbitration state immunity Ripson, Coen Petrus Johannes The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| title_full | The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| title_fullStr | The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| title_full_unstemmed | The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| title_short | The state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| title_sort | state as a shareholder in cases of reflective loss deriving from commercial activities in international investment arbitration |
| topic | reflective loss state shareholder host state international investment arbitration ICSID arbitration state immunity |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42681 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ripsoncoenpetrusjohannes thestateasashareholderincasesofreflectivelossderivingfromcommercialactivitiesininternationalinvestmentarbitration AT ripsoncoenpetrusjohannes stateasashareholderincasesofreflectivelossderivingfromcommercialactivitiesininternationalinvestmentarbitration |