Rights and duties of investors: a case study of the united republic of Tanzania

Investors’ rights and obligations, in the context of legal and institutional framework for investments, are very crucial in terms of attracting Foreign Direct Investments as well as sustaining investor confidence on one hand, while on the other hand investors’ rights and obligations are crucial in terms of promoting sustainable development goals of host states. In this view, the present study has been preoccupied with the extent to which investors’ rights and obligations in Tanzania are designed to achieve these goals. The findings and conclusions are that, investors’ rights and obligations are not rationalized, comprehensive and easily accessible because provisions for the protection and obligations of investors are either silent or dispersed over several legal instruments thereby reducing transparency, openness, and predictability vis-a-vis investors. Also, failure to include investor obligations in its investment treaties coupled with the overly expansive standards of treatment in its investment treaties, means that Tanzania constrains its policy space by limiting its ability to control and/or regulate its economy. This may further result to regulatory chill thereby undermining its sustainable development goals. It is thus recommended that the Tanzania Investment Act needs review, while International Investment Agreements should be updated so as to better reflect some innovative practices in recent Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).