The Calvo Doctrine and the Hull Formula

Book excerpt: This book, initially an LLM dissertation at the University of Liverpool, UK, analyses the Calvo Doctrine, which culminated from propositions by Carlos Calvo (1824 – 1906). It compares this Doctrine to the Hull Formula, developed by US Secretary of State Cordell Hull during 1930s exchanges with Mexico in defence of US foreign investors’ rights. The author submits that despite their apparent contrast, much aspects of harmony exist between the Calvo Doctrine and Hull Formula, which would enhance certainty in the international law of foreign investment, thereby benefiting global investment business, jurisprudence, arbitral practice and legal academia.