bilaterals.org

Consumers International releases three new papers on the TPP for the Lima round

2013-05-20 04:18:20

Consumers International (CI) has commissioned the production of three papers, the first on the competition chapter by one of our members, and the other two by independent experts, respectively covering the investment chapter and how it affects A2K, and the free flow of information provision and its impacts on privacy.

Reko Diq finally abandoned by Canadians, TCC

2013-05-10 07:28:48

Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a joint venture between Canada's Barrick Gold and Chilean miner Antofagasta, has given up hope of eventually mining Reko Diq, a disputed but promising copper-gold project in Pakistan's poorest region, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.

Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad

2013-05-07 07:26:46

Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in March.

Bilateral investment pacts can't be subject to foreign jurisdictions: FM

2013-04-18 07:02:14

India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram has made it clear that any bilateral investment protection agreement has to be subject to jurisdiction of domestic legal institutions and India will not allow it to be subjected to foreign courts or tribunals.

Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad

2013-04-18 06:57:20

BIT claim brought against Turkmenistan following UN finding of human rights violations

2013-04-15 07:02:57

Following a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (“UNHRC“) in 2010 that a Turkish businessman had suffered violations of his human rights after being illegally convicted of economic crimes, a claim for compensation is now being pursued under the Turkey-Turkmenistan bilateral investment treaty (“BIT“). This case therefore highlights the interesting interaction between the human rights and investment protection regimes.

A Bolivian nationalisation too far? Rurelec gets its day in court

2013-04-03 06:26:49

How did UK-based power company Rurelec manage to get Bolivia to go to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the nationalisation of the assets of its local subsidiary, Guaracachi, almost three years ago?

See you in court: Russians may sue over Cyprus losses

2013-03-27 07:59:07

Russian businesses and banks that face losses from the European Union's bailout of Cyprus are considering legal action but may have a hard time making a case, say lawyers who are combing through treaties find strategies to recover funds.

How NAFTA, FIPA and other investment deals put democracy and the environment at risk

2013-03-27 04:32:44

A US-funded energy firm, Lone Pine Resources, is using investor rights provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to challenge Quebec's 2011 moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.

Multinational firms look for tax shields in bilateral pacts

2013-03-19 06:50:26

The aggressive push by India's tax department to increase revenue has prompted several multinational companies to informally seek the views of lawyers and consultants about invoking bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements to resist the government's demands for more money.

Reko Diq saga: Balochistan wins again

2013-02-20 08:49:10

Amidst continuing violence plaguing Balochistan, there is now a cause of joy for the Baloch people and the government.

Investors running wild on land: the threats posed by international investment agreements

2013-02-20 02:13:14

A recent briefing note by Traidcraft discusses the threats posed by current regulation of foreign investment in land highlighting that food security and other human rights concerns often come at the cost of excessive protection of foreign investors' rights.

Plain packaging for cigarettes a legal minefield

2013-02-18 16:28:31

Lawsuits are seen as the inevitable next step if plain packaging of cigarettes is brought in.

The government will announce a decision on the matter in the next few days.

CETA Investor-State Dispute Settlement process “anti-democratic, unnecessary and unfair,” says NFU

2013-02-16 13:41:40

The National Farmers Union is among the labour, environmental, Indigenous, women's, academic, health sector and fair trade organizations representing over 65 million people from both sides of the Atlantic that have signed a joint statement demanding that Canada and the EU stop negotiating an excessive and controversial investor rights chapter in the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Intra-EU bilateral investment treaties: A test for European solidarity

2013-02-14 16:34:38

Corporations in Western Europe are suing Central and Eastern European countries at international arbitration tribunals through a vast web of intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).

Why can corporate interests trump sovereign rights?

2013-02-14 16:17:07

Real News Network interviews Chakravarthi Raghavan on how companies can sue countries under trade and investment agreements

Hearings to start in Uruguay anti-smoking

2013-02-11 06:30:52

Uruguay faces its first hearings in the French capital this week in a lawsuit filed by US tobacco giant Philip Morris International against its anti-smoking laws, an official said on Monday.

Profiting from injustice: challenging the investment arbitration industry

2013-02-11 01:41:00

Corporations have been granted the exclusive right to sue states (states cannot sue corporations) at secretive international tribunals for action deemed to unfairly affect investors' profits

Reko Diq: the other side

2013-02-05 15:46:51

Earlier last month, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declared null and void the Reko Diq gold and copper mine agreement, the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA), with Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).

The Reko Diq Saga

2013-02-05 15:46:18

The Supreme Court recently declared void and illegal a mining deal for the Reko Diq copper project signed 20 years ago between the Balochistan government and international mining companies.