Bilateral investment treaties, which protect and promote cross-border investments, are one of many areas of law which may be relevant for tax lawyers. Timothy Lyons QC and Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho (Thirty Nine Essex Street) explain why
Contemporary tax practitioners are well used to assessing tax provisions by reference to broad provisions of general law. For example the law of the EU the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights multilateral WTO agreements and bilateral trade agreements all govern the interpretation and application of tax rules. In recent years a new set of general provisions have acquired a higher profile for tax practitioners namely the rules governing the promotion and protection of investments which are contained in bilateral investment treaties (BITs).
