Dissertation
Who is a foreign investor? Natural persons as protected investors in international investment law
On 17 June 2026, Kseniia Soloveva defended the thesis 'Who is a foreign investor? Natural persons as protected investors in international investment law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Eric de Brabandere and Larissa van den Herik.
- Author
- Kseniia Soloveva
- Date
- 17 June 2026
- Links
- Who is a foreign investor? Natural persons as protected investors in international investment law
This dissertation examines who qualifies as a protected foreign investor under international investment law, with a focus on natural persons. It analyses the evolving role of nationality as the central criterion for investor protection, demonstrating that contemporary treaty practice increasingly introduces alternative links, such aspermanent residence. Special attention is devoted to dual nationals, especially those holding the nationality of both the home and host States. In the absence of clear treaty guidance, arbitral tribunals have adopted divergent approaches.
The dissertation contends that in such cases, subject to treaty language, the dominant and effective nationality test should inform treaty interpretation.This dissertation further explores procedural aspects of determining investor’s status, including the proof of nationality and the discretion exercised by arbitral tribunals in assessing evidence. It further considers the limits of protection throughthe application of the doctrine of abuse of process, focusing on ‘nationality planning’ by natural persons.
While changes of nationality are not inherently illegitimate, this dissertation discusses how protection may be denied where such changes are abusively undertaken to gain access to arbitration.This analysis ultimately exposes the need to strike a balance between traditional international investment law and progressiveapproaches that foster the field’s further development.