What guarantees does the Foreign Investment Law (Decree 9-98) give foreign investors?

Decree 9-98 (1998) states in its articles 2-3 the 'full parity' of the foreign investor with the Guatemalan one in economic activities (national treatment), and in article 5 the full right to use, enjoy,… benefit from and own the property in the investment. It bars direct or indirect expropriation except on proven grounds of collective utility, social benefit or social interest, on non-discriminatory bases and with prior and effective compensation, and it allows the investor to turn to international arbitration or other alternative mechanisms under treaties and domestic law. Local law firms describe its chapter III ('Guarantees and Rights') as the catalog of international protection standards brought into domestic law.