Study on the Principle of Investors' Legitimate Expectations

Recent awards in investment treaty arbitration between foreign investors and the states in which they invest have repeatedly referred to the investors' legitimate expectations as a core indicator as to whether there has been a failure to accord fair and equitable treatment to the foreign investors. Therefore the protection of the legitimate expectations relates closely to the considerable interests of the foreign investors and the host states. Basing on the review to the emergence and meaning of the principle,the thesis illustrates the factors which may give rise to the legitimate expectations and analyses some limitations on the application of it at last.