Investment Protection in Post-Brexit EU–UK Relations.

The article examines the impact of Brexit on investment protection and arbitration between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), focusing on the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the status of the UK's bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with EU Member States, as well as the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It highlights that the TCA provides limited investment protection, lacking key substantive safeguards and investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms, instead relying on a State-to-State dispute resolution process that excludes direct investor claims. The UK's existing BITs with certain EU Member States remain in force but face legal uncertainty due to EU law developments and the EU Commission's push for their termination, while the ECT continues to protect energy investments between the UK and the EU. Overall, the article concludes that Brexit has resulted in a fragmented and incomplete investment protection framework for EU–UK investors, with significant gaps especially affecting investments involving Western EU Member States.