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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.

Colombian courts must not be undermined by shadowy international tribunals, say campaigners
20-Sep-2022 Institute for Policy Studies
International organizations appeal to Colombia’s highest court over human rights violations at one of the largest open pit coal mines in the world.
Newly released text for modernized Energy Charter Treaty shows too many potential obstacles for climate action
15-Sep-2022 IISD
The text of the agreement in principle to modernize the Energy Charter Treaty leaves unanswered too many crucial questions about the possibility of further fossil fuel carveouts and the exact timing of its entry into force.
The not-so-hidden cost to “mega” energy deals : the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in East Africa (in conversation with Olivia Costa and Brenda Akankunda)
14-Sep-2022 State of Power
The ECT Secretariat, whose survival depends on continuation of the treaty, continues to lobby these countries to take additional steps towards acceding to the Energy Charter Treaty.
Energy Charter Treaty modernisation text (Jun 2022)
13-Sep-2022
Before the flood? The looming risk of corporations suing states for Covid-related measures
12-Sep-2022 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Now the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer in the headlines in many parts of the world, the risk corporations will use investment treaties to claim compensation from governments to cover their losses during these exceptional times is increasing.
British investors could sue Australia over climate action if UK joins trans-Pacific trade pact
8-Sep-2022 The Conversation
It’s a portent of claims Australia may face from British companies invested in Australia’s fossil-fuel industries if the United Kingdom gets its way and joins the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Korea on alert over 6 more investor-state suits following Lone Star ruling
5-Sep-2022 The Korea Times
The total amount of claims asked by claimants against the Korean government exceeds $1.2 billion.
Poland drafts law to ‘terminate’ controversial Energy Charter Treaty
2-Sep-2022 Euractiv
The draft law on the “termination of the of the Energy Charter Treaty” and its protocols was agreed by the Polish government on 10 August and sent to the country’s lower chamber.
South Korea to appeal international tribunal’s order to pay Lone Star By Kim Arin
1-Sep-2022 Korea Herald
South Korea plans to seek annulment of an international tribunal’s verdict to compensate Lone Star Funds in a decade long investor-to-state dispute arbitration.
S. Korea ordered to pay Lone Star US$216.5 mln in investor-state suit
31-Aug-2022 Yonhap
An international tribunal ordered South Korea to pay the US private equity firm Lone Star Funds US$216.5 million, bringing an end to a decade long legal battle surrounding its sell-off of a local bank.
Tensions rise as Korea waits for verdict on Lone Star dispute
26-Aug-2022 Korea Herald
The Korean public has been in outrage over the matter for more than a decade, claiming that the case was an international “fraud” committed by an overseas private equity firm.
Oil firm Rockhopper wins £210m payout after being banned from drilling
25-Aug-2022 The Guardian
Italian government ordered to compensate UK firm after exploration forbidden within 12 miles of coast.
Montero Mining seeks CAD$ 90,000,000 in damages from the Tanzanian Government for expropriation of the Wigu Hill project
24-Aug-2022 Junior Mining Network
Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. is seeking compensation of CAD$ 90 million from Tanzania over the expropriation of the Wigu Hill Rare Earth Element Project.
Stop the ratification of CETA! A joint statement by German and Canadian civil society groups
23-Aug-2022 Trade Justice Network
We Canadian and German civil society organizations express our continued opposition to CETA, which protects corporate interests at the expense of climate, environmental and social action and democratic decision-making.
Boris Johnson’s half-brother to sue Mongolia for $50mn in a mining investment dispute
22-Aug-2022 BNE Intellinews
The half-brother of ousted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will bring a $50mn lawsuit against Mongolia to try to recover an investment into a mining project that went horribly wrong.
Why can Ascent Resources demand half a billion euros from Slovenia?
22-Aug-2022 Slovenia Posts English
Ascent Resources initiated an arbitration dispute in which it is demanding half a billion euros due to Slovenia’s request that an environmental impact assessment should be carried out before fracking in Petišovci.
KCA, a Reno Nevada based mining company, suspended gold mine in Guatemala
28-Jul-2022 Sierra Nevada Ally
However, locals feel latent tension that the imminent consultation process or the arbitration suit could revive earlier threats, violence, and legal persecution from company employees and contractors.
ECT: “ecocide” treaty puts Member States and EU Commission at odds
27-Jul-2022 Investigate Europe
European governments are still considering withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty, despite the EU Commission’s efforts to modernise the controversial pact, documents leaked to Investigate Europe reveal.
Germany bails out Uniper with multi-billion euro package
26-Jul-2022 Energy Voice
Germany has agreed to buy a stake in Uniper. The deal is subject to Uniper withdrawing a lawsuit against the Netherlands in connection with the Energy Charter Treaty.
The Energy Charter Treaty has not aged well
18-Jul-2022 Energy Monitor
Despite warnings that new oil and gas fields must be banned for the world to decarbonise by 2050, treaty signatories will protect fossil fuel production for at least another decade.