Incorporating Dispute Settlement Clauses in Investment Projects: Extension to Related Agreements and Implications for ICSID Jurisdiction

The article examines the legal nature and scope of dispute settlement clauses in investment projects, with particular attention to their extension to related agreements within complex contractual structures and the resulting implications for establishing the jurisdiction of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). It considers approaches to the written form of consent to arbitration and the permissible modalities for expressing such consent through contracts, domestic legislation, and international treaties, as well as the significance of legal certainty when characterising the consent of the State and the investor. The analysis highlights the role of systemic interconnection among project documentation and the coherence of procedural protection mechanisms in ensuring predictability of the legal regime and stability of legitimate expectations in investment activity. It argues that properly drafted clauses, aligned with the overall architecture of an investment project, constitute a material condition for effective procedural protection and for mitigating jurisdictional risks.