The Human Right to Water and ICSID Arbitration: two sides of a same coin or an example of fragmentation of International Law?

In developing countries where structural adjustment loans have been contracted in the past and where global financial pressure has pushed governments to de-regulate water and privatize the sector, foreign private investment has flowered. A greater role but also a greater responsibility should be placed on International Financial Institutions asking whether in the implementation of their lending policies human rights clauses have been included. Contemporary International Investment Law is faced with a challenge: that of allowing legitimate profits for private investors and that of establishing a framework where human rights are guaranteed to all individuals in the territory of the host State. In this perspective, transparency and good governance are powerful incentives towards a more responsible contracting both for governments and for private companies. The case of water privatization is particularly instructive.