
The concepts of a paradigm and a paradigm shift bring significant added value in the science of international law in. They do not have to be understood only as the basic theoretical assumptions forming a coherent research doctrine, but also (as they are most often used in practice) as basic assumptions, typical solutions or standard mechanisms typical for a given part of international law or for international law as whole. Adopting the perspective of paradigm shift shows the dynamics of normative transformations and identify their nature (apparent i.a. in the context of Briand-Kellog Pact).
The author argues that international investment law undergoes fundamental paradigmatic transformations both in terms of theory (departure from the neoliberal pattern for sustainable development) and in the material (standards of treatment, dispute resolution procedures) as well as institutional (new treaty bodies with competence for interpreting the treaty, the Investment Court System or the Multilateral Investment Tribunal project). At the same time, this comprehensive reorientation, and especially the time of its occurrence, is not easy to grasp due to the specificity of the international investment law which consists of over 2500 treaties.