La protezione degli investimenti stranieri e la nuova crisi del servizio pubblico

Supranational legal regimes are suspected to annihilate the notion of public service: they affect one of the main feature of public service law, its political and typically national character. The paper discusses how national regulation of public service activities is affected by bilateral investment treaties (Bits) and Icsid awards. The author examines Eu, Gats and Bits rules on public services, suggesting that Bits have the strongest impact: they submit public service activities to an ordinary legal regime, in which economic interests (the protection of investments) choke the social and solidaristic nature of public services.