The article clarifies the legal meaning of “investments” and delineates it from the related notion of “capital” by relying on doctrinal approaches and statutory definitions. It argues that “capital” describes the property basis of economic activity and the general capacity of resources to generate returns, whereas “investments” reflect a legally relevant orientation of specific assets toward contribution to entrepreneurial and/or other activities for the purpose of generating profit or achieving another beneficial effect. The analysis demonstrates that the plurality of definitions in economic and legal scholarship mirrors the complexity of the regulated phenomenon and calls for a coherent conceptual framework that supports legal certainty and predictability in law enforcement. A comparison of statutory definitions reveals the difference between object-based descriptions of contribution forms and process-based formulations of capital contribution, which is significant for consistent interpretation and application of investment legislation. The article formulates conclusions on qualification criteria that both capture the main practical forms of investment and prevent overly broad interpretations that may enable bad-faith reliance on a special legal regime.
Dmitry Semenovich Belkin (Tue,) studied this question.