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Author	Assoc Prof David Keith Linnan
Organisation/Institution	University of South Carolina School of Law
Country	UNITED STATES
Panel	International Investment Law
Title	Foreign and Domestic Investment: Rely More on Local “Best Practices,” or Rather “International Standards”?
Abstract	Attracting foreign investment for economic development purposes seems sometimes to be a race to the bottom in terms of sustainability, human rights and similar concerns. Meanwhile, there have been enough examples over time to pause and take stock which investment projects have worked out better or worse from the perspective of the people, commercial enterprises and governments, and why? So how to relate this body of knowledge to the broader question of local, regional and general international standards constantly under discussion? This paper pursues these topics chiefly within the Indonesian experience examining a series of national-level investment or business projects over time, chiefly involving international but also local investment projects. Investment projects addressed include the longstanding Freeport-McMoran Grasberg mining project in Eastern Indonesia (Papua), the BP Tangguh LNG Project (also in Papua, generally considered a success, consciously implemented with an eye to the many failings of Freeport-McMoran Grasberg) and the Lapindo Drilling Project (a domestic project in Sidoardjo, East Java, resulting in catastrophic mud flows and resulting population displacement). For current and regional comparisons, we then turn to the on-going wave of Nickel Sulfate projects, not only in Indonesia, but also regionally. What has been learned over time, what are current standards, and in what direction might future standards go, recognizing that other ASEAN states are now complaining about negative environmental and similar effects of certain Indonesian projects? Consider Singapore, where there are sensitivities reaching back to recurrent haze problems related to Sumatran forests being cleared commercially by simple burning in preparation for domestic CPO projects.
Biography	David Linnan, Associate Professor of Law, U South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, SC USA & Visiting Lecturer, IUP Program, Fakultas Hukum Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Senior Fellow, Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam & Society, Fellow, Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne, Senior Fulbright Fellow, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Research Fellow, Indonesia Project & Faculty of Law, Australian National University, Canberra, Alexander-von-Humboldt Stipendiat, Max-Planck-Institute (Criminal Law), Freiburg i.Br., Germany. Specializing in business and international law, especially in Southeast Asia. Former corporate finance practitioner.