The Angola–Brazil Bilateral Investment Treaty: an introduction to its dispute settlement mechanism

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the Angola–Brazil BIT and briefly analyses the dispute settlement mechanism for investment disputes provided for by that agreement. The ratification of the BIT by Brazil a few years ago means that Brazilian investors are now able to seek protection to their investments in Angola through the bilateral dispute settlement mechanism established by the BIT. Although Investor-State arbitration is not envisaged in the agreement, Brazilian investors can request Brazil to act on their behalf bringing their claims before the Joint Committee for conciliation and, if this proves unsuccessful, initiating State-State arbitration proceedings against Angola.