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Author	Prof Luke Richard NOTTAGE
Organisation/Institution	The University of Sydney Law School
Country	AUSTRALIA
Panel	International Investment Law
Title	Corruption-related Provisions in East and South Asian Investment Agreements: An Empirical Analysis
Abstract	This paper analyses two types of provisions relevant to corruption in Asian international investment agreements (IIAs): clauses requiring (host) states to enforce anti-corruption laws, and clauses that protect foreign investments made in accordance with host state laws. It tests whether IIA drafters act rationally regarding such clauses, or instead show status quo or other biases. This is complex first because rational strategies should depend on whether the state is a net exporter of foreign direct investment (FDI) or a net importer, but we explain how determining this status may be difficult. Secondly, rational strategies should depend on the relative extent of corruption in each state and, somewhat relatedly, the extent of inbound FDI claims. Despite such complexities and some instances of more ‘bounded’ rationality, overall states seem to be drafting both types of clauses rationally – even, and indeed especially, the net-FDI-importing states that tend to be transitioning economies. Adding to that empirical result a more normative perspective, the paper helps identify factors that could or should be considered by future IIA drafters, international bodies or others tracking the trajectories of IIAs and corruption in Asia and beyond.
Biography	Dr Luke Nottage (PhD VUW, LLD Kyoto) is Professor of Comparative and Transnational Business Law at Sydney Law School. His teaching and research, including twenty books, focus on arbitration, contract law, consumer product safety law and corporate governance, with a particular interest in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. He is founding Co-Director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL), Managing Director of Japanese Law Links Pty Ltd and Special Counsel with Williams Trade Law. From April 2026 Luke commences a cross-appointment as Professor of Anglo-American Law at the University of Tokyo. [Co-presenter and lead author: Dr Nobumichi Teramura, Assistant Professor, Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam]