AUTHOR(S)
Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan

abstract
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which became legally effective in 1998, is an energy sector-specific legally-binding multilateral agreement that protects and safeguards foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational enterprises (MNEs). Bangladesh, an energy-importing, and FDIattracting-state has completed almost all the formalities to soon become a member of the ECT and declared that it is ready to embrace the legal obligations of the treaty. Its declaration of joining the ECT was motivated by an expectation that doing so would benefit the country. The positive expectation from the ECT requires a reality check, taking into account the context of the energy sector of Bangladesh. This article checks this reality based on a particular theoretical perspective that links justice with international trade and investment. It is argued here that the inherent structural features of the ECT confirm that it places corporate profit and safety over people and ecology, and thus Bangladesh must not join it.

DOI
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