Today, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between developing countries account for approximately 26 per cent of the total number of BITs, and with enhanced South-South economic cooperation and greater regional integration, this number is likely to grow.

The paper examines trends in and characteristic of South-South BITs in order to establish whether and to what extent they follow the North-South European BITs template, and to identify those features and developments unique to the South-South BITs.