The Full Protection and Security Standard in Investment Law: A Specific Obligation?

This chapter aims to demonstrate that full protection and security and fair and equitable treatment are two different standards that don’t apply under the same circumstances and have different legal status. After a historical overview (Sect. 1) intended to show how the conflation between the two has emerged over the centuries, emphasis is put on the nature and the scope of application of the full protection and security standard when compared to the fair and equitable treatment standard (Sects. 2 and 3). The next section of the current chapter introduces the idea that full protection and security is to be read in light of another provision often found in international investment agreements: compensation for losses due to war or other conflict (Sect. 4). This chapter concludes with the necessity to respect the specific nature, purpose and scope of application of the different rules contained in international investment agreements (Sect. 5).