International investment agreements against the development of European Union law

After World War II the growth in trade on a global scale increased the need for international capital movements to be carried out on a regular basis. The failure of multilateral investment agreement efforts has led states seeking investment promotion and protection to bilateral investment agreements. Since the early 1990s, the European Union (EU) has also wanted to have authority in global trade. However, due to the unique legal structure of the EU, this search for authority remained unanswered for a long time. While the EU, on one hand, wants to prevent the investment agreements of the member states from harming the common interests of the Union, on the other hand, has kept the demand for authority in this area alive. Finally, with the Lisbon Treaty, the EU, has embraced an exclusive competence in the field of foreign direct investments (FDI), continues to increase its influence with the new generation agreements and Union savings. In this study, it has been investigated to what extent international investment agreements are affected by the unique legal structure of the EU and which legal issues arise because of this interaction. In the thesis study, firstly, the place and importance of investment agreements in international law has been mentioned, then the investment agreements of the EU and the investment agreements that the member states concluded with third states are examined. Finally, it has been expressed how the legal issues in this area are reflected in Türkiye's investment agreements. In the study, it is stated that the provisions of international investment agreements are approximated to the EU legislation, thus new generation investment agreements that pay attention to the dynamics of EU law; however, it has been concluded that no concrete development has been achieved yet on how to resolve investment disputes without affecting the autonomous structure of EU law.