A Study on the Concept of Foreign Investor in ICSID Convention and Iranian Law

Applying promotion and protection measures to foreign investors requires an in depth understanding of the concept. One of the particular privileges is the right to have an access to the ICISID Arbitration Center in which entitles an investor to bring a claim against the host state. In order to avoiding of the treaty shopping and other fraudulent actions, it is fundamentally necessary to recognize the investors based on a real criteria. The main question is on what basis we should define a foreign investor. Residential factor alongside with nationality for natural persons and the place of control for legal entities should be considered. Regards to "Foreign Investors Promotion and Protection act 2002 (FIPPA)" it also should be noted that the criterion of the foreign origin of the capital cannot be effective anymore. In harmony with international investment law, there should be another criterion instead of considering just foreign origin of the capital in attempt to make an obstacle for Iranian nationals who take the advantage of this act by using a fake foreign nationality and flowing a capital with an internal origin, and also, it seems to be advantageous to achieve a unification in definition of investors in FIPPA act and other bilateral investment treaties.