Two arbitral cases were initiated against Kazakhstan on the basis of the 1989 Agreement between theGovernment of Canada and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the Promotion andReciprocal Protection of Investments. The tribunal of the first case (World Wide Minerals v. Republic of Kazakhstan)determined that Kazakhstan was a legal successor to the Canada-USSR BIT and found breaches of fair and equitabletreatment. While in the second case (Gold Pool Limited Partnership v. Republic of Kazakhstan) the tribunal rejectedthe claimant’s argument that the Canada-USSR BIT was applicable to Kazakhstan. Since the decisions in these twocases have not been published, there is currently speculation that investors from other states besides Canada can takeadvantage of the Soviet Union’s treaties, even if there is no treaty in force with Kazakhstan. Thus, the aim of this paperis to show the legal framework and practice for treaty-making related to investment in Kazakhstan both pre-and post-collapse of the Soviet Union. In particular, this paper examines the relevant international treaties, diplomatic notes,intergovernmental-level statements regarding the succession to the USSR treaties, and the USSR and Kazakh SovietSocialist Republic investment legislations. It also provides recommendations for the future development of statesuccession and investment treaties.
