Interpretation and Scope of Consent-to-Arbitration Clauses in Investment Disputes: A Comparative Legal Analysis

The article examines the legal nature and limits of state consent to submit international investment disputes to arbitration. It systematizes the principal modalities of consent—investment contracts, domestic investment legislation, bilateral investment treaties, and multilateral instruments—and shows how drafting choices shape arbitral jurisdiction, ranging from narrow clauses confined to the amount of compensation to broad formulas covering “any dispute in connection with investments.” The analysis addresses the effect of most-favoured-nation clauses, umbrella clauses, and fork-in-the-road provisions, and synthesizes interpretative approaches found in international and national practice, with observations drawn from Russian cases and regional mechanisms within the Commonwealth of Independent States. The study concludes that precise and exhaustive treaty language, alignment of domestic norms with international commitments, and timely investor acceptance of consent are essential to legal certainty and predictability in dispute resolution.