Mutual Protection of Foreign Investments in BRICS Member States

This report, prepared by Brevia Legal, offers an in-depth public study of foreign investment protection mechanisms among the expanded BRICS membership, now comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and, as of 2025, Indonesia.

As BRICS continues to grow in economic significance —accounting for over a quarter of global FDI inflows and nearly 30% of global GDP— the absence of a unified regulatory framework for foreign investment protection has become increasingly salient. This publication maps the existing patchwork of bilateral and multilateral treaties in force among BRICS states and provides critical legal insight into the protections currently available to investors.

Key Features of the Report

• Treaty Landscape Overview
  A systematic inventory of the 18 Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs“) currently in force between BRICS member states, with analysis of their evolution, coverage, and legal effect.
• Comparative Treaty Practice
  Examination of substantive standards of protection (e.g., FET, expropriation, MFN, NT), dispute resolution provisions, and temporal scope, including sunset clauses.
• Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)
  Analysis of dispute resolution mechanisms available under existing treaties, including trends toward limitations on ISDS, use of state-to-state arbitration, and recent case outcomes.
• Policy Trends and Treaty Reform
  Review of shifting national approaches—particularly Brazil, India, and South Africa—toward more restrictive investment treaty models aligned with public policy priorities.
• Prospects for Harmonisation
  Discussion of potential pathways for intra-BRICS cooperation on investment protection, including model treaties, framework agreements, and approximation of domestic regulations.

This essential resource equips legal and policy professionals with practical guidance on structuring investments and offers researchers clear insights into the evolving BRICS investment landscape.