Protecting Submarine Cables From Physical Damage Under Investment Law

Abstract The physical security of submarine cables is under multiple sources of threats from private activities, but the law of the sea does not provide sufficient jurisdiction for the coastal state to regulate these threats. International investment law, however, provides cable investors with the possibility of invoking the full protection and security (FPS) standard against the cable-landing state in international arbitration. This standard requires the cable-landing state to take all reasonable measures to protect the physical security of submarine cables from physical damage, but its application is subject to some limits.