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sustainable development, and sovereignty over energy resources (Article 3 and 6).
The ECT not only introduces well-established rules of international investment law
such as non-discrimination and the protection of foreign investment to the energy
sector but also provides for a system of dispute resolution. The increasing body of
case law generated through this dispute resolution system is a significant source of
international energy law along with the ECT itself.
In addition to the ECT, there are international treaties that address specific issues
within the energy sector. Safety and liability in the nuclear energy sector have been
addressed through numerous international legal instruments and institutions like the
International Atomic Energy Agency. The International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) includes significant provisions on
the design and operation of oil tankers. Furthermore, the international climate
regime directly addresses energy efficiency, the promotion of renewable energy
sources and the progressive reduction of public subsidies to greenhouse-gasemitting sectors, for example.
Alongside these sector-specific legal instruments, there is a body of international
law, referred to as lex petrolea which can be understood as both the application of
international law to the petroleum sector and as sector-specific international rules
adapted to the specificities of the petroleum industry (Martin 2012).
In addition to the international law that specifically addresses the energy sector,
international investment law and trade law have also proved to have global significance in the energy sector. The application of WTO law to the energy sector, in
particular, has attracted a great deal of academic attention. Overall, the share of
energy-related disputes in international arbitration is significant, which indicates the
economic importance of trade and investment in the energy sector (see Chap. 20 for
more on arbitration).
In addition to the multilateral investment treaties, there is an abundance of bilateral investment treaties that apply to energy.
As demonstrated in the discussion above, it is clear that there is no single international legislative instrument or a clear body of international law that could be
categorized as constituting international energy law. However, there is firstly a fragmented body of international law that addresses specific issues in the energy sector,
and secondly a large body of private and public international law that is applicable
to and has particular relevance in the energy sector, albeit it does not necessarily
directly address energy issues.
Many of the energy-specific legal instruments currently in force aim to balance
the oft-conflicting interests of securing the availability of energy on affordable and
equitable terms without compromising sustainability (Wyman 2015). However, the
number of provisions that address issues of sustainability within these legal instruments is not abundant, irrespective of whether the instruments in question relate to
investment, exploration, production, trade or the transmission of energy. Against
this background, it is perhaps not surprising that the existing texts of international
energy law contain almost no explicit legal references to the food–energy–water
nexus. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify legal linkages with water and food in
international energy law, as discussed below.
6 International Governance
sustainable development, and sovereignty over energy resources (Article 3 and 6).
The ECT not only introduces well-established rules of international investment law
such as non-discrimination and the protection of foreign investment to the energy
sector but also provides for a system of dispute resolution. The increasing body of
case law generated through this dispute resolution system is a significant source of
international energy law along with the ECT itself.
In addition to the ECT, there are international treaties that address specific issues
within the energy sector. Safety and liability in the nuclear energy sector have been
addressed through numerous international legal instruments and institutions like the
International Atomic Energy Agency. The International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) includes significant provisions on
the design and operation of oil tankers. Furthermore, the international climate
regime directly addresses energy efficiency, the promotion of renewable energy
sources and the progressive reduction of public subsidies to greenhouse-gasemitting sectors, for example.
Alongside these sector-specific legal instruments, there is a body of international
law, referred to as lex petrolea which can be understood as both the application of
international law to the petroleum sector and as sector-specific international rules
adapted to the specificities of the petroleum industry (Martin 2012).
In addition to the international law that specifically addresses the energy sector,
international investment law and trade law have also proved to have global significance in the energy sector. The application of WTO law to the energy sector, in
particular, has attracted a great deal of academic attention. Overall, the share of
energy-related disputes in international arbitration is significant, which indicates the
economic importance of trade and investment in the energy sector (see Chap. 20 for
more on arbitration).
In addition to the multilateral investment treaties, there is an abundance of bilateral investment treaties that apply to energy.
As demonstrated in the discussion above, it is clear that there is no single international legislative instrument or a clear body of international law that could be
categorized as constituting international energy law. However, there is firstly a fragmented body of international law that addresses specific issues in the energy sector,
and secondly a large body of private and public international law that is applicable
to and has particular relevance in the energy sector, albeit it does not necessarily
directly address energy issues.
Many of the energy-specific legal instruments currently in force aim to balance
the oft-conflicting interests of securing the availability of energy on affordable and
equitable terms without compromising sustainability (Wyman 2015). However, the
number of provisions that address issues of sustainability within these legal instruments is not abundant, irrespective of whether the instruments in question relate to
investment, exploration, production, trade or the transmission of energy. Against
this background, it is perhaps not surprising that the existing texts of international
energy law contain almost no explicit legal references to the food–energy–water
nexus. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify legal linkages with water and food in
international energy law, as discussed below.
6 International Governance