investor-state disputes | ISDS
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) refers to a way of handling conflicts under international investment agreements whereby companies from one party are allowed to sue the government of another party. This means they can file a complaint and seek compensation for damages. Many BITs and investment chapters of FTAs allow for this if the investor’s expectation of a profit has been negatively affected by some action that the host government took, such as changing a policy. The dispute is normally handled not in a public court but through a private abritration panel. The usual venues where these proceedings take place are the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank), the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law or the International Court of Justice.
ISDS is a hot topic right now because it is being challenged very strongly by concerned citizens in the context of the EU-US TTIP negotiations, the TransPacific Partnership talks and the CETA deal between Canada and the EU.
24-Dec-2008
ITN
Argentina has refused calls by Siemens to suspend proceedings at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in which a committee is considering Argentina’s request to revise a 2007 award, following the admission by the German firm that it had bribed Argentinean officials.
24-Dec-2008
When the government of Ecuador failed to make a scheduled interest payment on private bonds this month, it was hardly the first time a country had defaulted in the middle of a financial crisis.
22-Dec-2008
Upside Down World
A Canadian mining company intends to sue El Salvador’s government for several hundred million dollars if it is not granted permission to open a widely unpopular gold and silver mine that scientists warn would have devastating effects on local water supplies.
13-Dec-2008
A Canadian mining company and its American subsidiary have threatened the government of El Salvador with a lawsuit after it failed to receive regulatory approval to begin digging for gold and silver in an area some 65 km from San Salvador. The proposed mine has drawn intense opposition from civil society and church-based groups, although the mining company maintains that it enjoys broad public support in El Salvador.
24-Nov-2008
Multinational Monitor
British water giant Biwater cannot use an investment treaty to make Tanzania pay millions for an abrogated water privatization contract, an international tribunal ruled in July.
19-Nov-2008
FDI Magazine
Is there a backlash brewing against the international legal system used by states and investors to settle FDI disputes? For several years, lawyers and academics have been debating whether the current system - consisting of more than 2600 bilateral investment protection treaties - is ensuring the security and protection of investor assets and contracts without unnecessarily handcuffing the sovereignty of governments to regulate business activity within their borders.
5-Nov-2008
There is a Slovak proverb which says: “When catching a bird, they sing it a sweet song”. Another Slovak proverb says: “Those who want to beat a dog will certainly find a club“. For investors who find themselves in a situation similar to that described by these proverbs, the bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) very often provide the last available legal option. A BIT is an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in the state of the other.
23-Oct-2008
CBC
Dow AgroSciences, maker of the commonly used herbicide ingredient 2,4-D, is challenging the Quebec government under the North American Free Trade Agreement for banning its product.
12-Oct-2008
In spite of the fact that consent is the main building block of arbitration, arbitral awards have been steady for some years that a claimant need not have a contractual relationship with a respondent state to initiate arbitral proceedings versus this state, i.e. states unexpectedly were made respondents in arbitrations under arbitration clauses they have never approved or even bargained.
8-Oct-2008
Dominican Republic Lawyer
An arbitration tribunal constituted under the France-Dominican Republic Bilateral Investment Treaty released an award last week ruling on the jurisdictional objections raised by the Dominican Republic in a claim brought by TCW and its parent company.
6-Oct-2008
International Law Reporter
Ecuador’s new constitution provides that Ecuador will not enter into international agreements under which Ecuador would have to cede jurisdiction to international arbitral tribunals in contractual or commercial matters between the State and individuals or corporations.
28-Sep-2008
Until the Philippine government and Fraport AG (Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide) have resolved all the legal issues and Fraport fairly compensated, the NAIA Terminal 3 is unlikely to attract long term locators, according to German ambassador to the Philippines Christian Ludwig Weber-Lortsch.
11-Sep-2008
Dow Jones Newswires
A panel from the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or Icsid, said late Tuesday that it has jurisdiction for the claim of the US-based oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) against Ecuador.
28-Jul-2008
A British water company thrown out of Tanzania over a bungled privatisation deal has failed in its bid to win up to £10m in damages.
22-May-2008
How beneficial are Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) for Contracting states remains a hotly debated issue, threatening to eclipse the success due to misgivings generated largely by the Latin American experience.
28-Apr-2008
Scoop
While media coverage of the China-NZ Free Trade Agreement has focused almost entirely on the possible dollar gains, scant attention has been paid to the equally valid exposure of New Zealand to compensation claims — should any NZ government be so bold in future as to pass laws or regulations that a foreign investor feels will impact on profitability.
9-Apr-2008
While it is a US company, Exxon Mobil is entitled to invoke protection under the Netherlands-Venezuela Investment Promotion and Protection Convention, which guarantees resolution of Exxon Mobil’s dispute with Venezuela in the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
22-Mar-2008
When agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. quietly filed court documents this month to overturn — and increase — a multi-million-dollar trade penalty it won against the Mexican government, the move shone a light on Chapter 11, perhaps the most controversial clause in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
20-Mar-2008
Mondaq
Canada has just passed legislation implementing the ICSID Convention, a very important tool for the resolution of investor-state disputes. But the government has not yet indicated a timetable for ratification of the treaty. To date, only four provinces and one territory have passed similar implementing legislation.
19-Mar-2008
IPS
Venezuela celebrated, as a triumph for countries of the developing South, Tuesday’s ruling in its favour by a British court in a legal dispute with US oil giant Exxon Mobil, which overturned an earlier court order to freeze around 12 billion dollars in Venezuelan assets.