Treatment and Protection of Investment. 1. With respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation and sale or other disposition of covered investments, each Contracting Party shall accord treatment no less favorable than that it accords, in like situations, to investments in its territory of its own nationals or companies (hereinafter "national treatment") or to investments in its territory of nationals or companies of a third country (hereinafter "most favored nation treatment"), whichever is most favorable (hereinafter "national and most favored nation treatment"). Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its state enterprises, in the provision of their goods or services, accord national and most favored nation treatment to covered investments.
Treatment and Protection of Investment. (1) Each Contracting Party grants investment by investors of the other Contracting Parties fair and equitable treatment as well as full and comprehensive protection and security.
Treatment and Protection of Investment. Article II contains the Treaty's major obligations with respect to the treatment of covered investments. Pargraph 1 generally ensures the better of national or MFN treatment in both the entry and post- entry phases of investment. It thus prohibits, outside of exceptions listed in the Annex, "screening" on the basis of nationality during the investment process, as well as nationality-based post-establishment measures. For purposes of the Treaty, " national treatment" means treatment no less favorable than that which a Party accords, in like situations, to investments in its territory of its own nationals or companies. For purposes of the Treaty, "MFN treatment" means treatment no less favorable than that which a Party accords, in like situations, to investments in its territory of nationals or companies of a third country. The Treaty obliges each Party to provide whichever of national treatment or MFN treatment is the most favorable. This is defined by the Treaty as "national and MFN treatment." Paragraph 1 explicitly states that the national and MFN treatment obligation will extend to state enterprises in their provision of goods and services to covered investments. Paragraph 2 states that each Party may adopt or maintain exceptions to the national and MFN treatment standard with respect to the sectors or matters specified in the Annex. Further restrictive measures are permitted in each sector. (The specific exceptions are discussed in the section entitled "Annex" below.) In the Annex, Parties may take exceptions only to the obligation to provide national and MFN treatment; there are no sectoral exceptions to the rest of the Treaty's obligations. Finally, in adopting any exception under this provision, a Party may not require the divestment of a preexisting covered investment. Paragraph 2 also states that a Party is not required to extend to covered investments national and MFN treatment with respect to procedures provided for in multilateral agreements concluded under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization relating to the acquisition or maintenance of intellectual property rights. This provision clarifies that certain procedural preferences granted under intellectual property conventions, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty, fall outside the BIT. This exception parallels those in the Uruguay Round's Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the north American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Pargra...
