The present book is based on a doctoral thesis that was submitted to the Faculty of Law of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2012. I would first of all like to thank Professor Andreas R. Ziegler for being the principal instigator of this project and taking it out of Lausanne. I would also like to thank the following, who have aided in the production of this book in various ways: the Research Commission of the University of Lausanne and the Swiss National Science Foundation, for funding an important part of the research; the Socie´te´ acade´mique vaudoise, in Lausanne, for contributing to it; Mrs A. Jane Bradley, former Deputy Director of the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown University,Washington, DC, for welcoming me at the institute, where I was able to benefit from an optimal environment during an extended research stay;Mrs Debra Steger, professor at the University of Ottawa, for taking me on board the Emerging Dynamic Global Economies Network (EDGE) Project, which proved a very stimulating experience and gave new impulses to my research; Ryota Jonen, Senior Manager at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Washington, DC; and Mr Philipp Frech, fellow biker in Washington, DC. Back in Switzerland, I would like to thank the following for their financial, technical or artistic support in the final stage of this project: my brother François, my mother Suzanne, my father Pierre, my aunt Catherine, Jose´ Antonio Gonzales and Catherine Leutenegger.