50 Years of Bilateral Investment Treaties

The year 2009 marked the Golden Jubilee of the first Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Signed on 25 November 1959 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, it formed part of the process of reconstruction in the aftermath of the Second World War. Against this background, this project is aimed at a stocktaking as well as a look to the future of bilateral investment agreements. At the heart of the project is a conference, jointly organized by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Auslandsinvestitionen, e.V., the BDI, the IILCC, Lovells and TELC, to be held in Frankfurt on 1-3 December 2009. This conference is the official celebration of this anniversary in Germany and will bring together academics, advocates, arbitrators, economists, investors, policy makers and political scientists.