The President has assented to the Protection of Investment Act 2015 and the Act has been published for general information.

The Act will only come into operation on a date determined by the President by proclamation in the Gazette. The intention of the Act is to achieve a balance of the rights and obligations of all investors.

There will no longer be special provisions regarding investment and international arbitration relating to those countries which formerly had bilateral investment treaties with South Africa. Therefore the Act has to be read with other legislation which will now apply to all alike. For instance, the right to property is granted in terms of section 25 of the Constitution and this will be governed by the proposed new Expropriation Act and other land legislation.

Existing bilateral investment treaties will continue to be protected for the same period and terms stipulated in the treaties.