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.
30-Jul-2025
Yonhap
South Korea’s government has paid US$54 million to US hedge fund Mason Capital following an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) ruling.
28-Jul-2025
Türkiye Today
Türkiye has prevailed in an international arbitration case brought by Italian energy giant Enel S.p.A. over the 2022 cancellation of a pre-license for a solar power plant in the southwestern province of Isparta, the country’s energy regulator announced on Friday.
25-Jul-2025
Mongabay
New data on foreign arbitration claims in Honduras reveal that the lawsuits filed by corporations against the country now total $19.4 billion in legal claims, equivalent to roughly 53% of Honduras’ GDP in 2024.
25-Jul-2025
Finance in Africa
As Ethiopia opens its doors to foreign investment, Canada is positioning itself to be among the first in line, with legal safeguards in place.
25-Jul-2025
Keidanren
At the 14th Asian Business Summit in Manila, 12 economic business stressed their interests in strengthening FTAs, promoting green transformation with diverse energy pathways, fostering innovation driven by AI and startups, and developing human resources to boost regional competitiveness. The summit advocates maintaining a rules-based international economic order and reforming the WTO.
24-Jul-2025
Oreanda
Businessman Samvel Karapetyan has won an international arbitration case against the Armenian government in connection with attempts by the authorities to nationalize his company, Electric Grids of Armenia.
22-Jul-2025
The Hill Times
Human rights, not corporate rights, should drive international trade relations under this new government.
21-Jul-2025
Inside Climate News
Using a secretive arbitration system, multinational companies could bankrupt Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the world. A recent advisory opinion from a human-rights court calls for an overhaul.
18-Jul-2025
LRT
Lithuania and French energy group Veolia have reached a €35 million settlement that ends most of their decade-long legal disputes over municipal heating contracts, the Lithuanian Energy Ministry announced .
18-Jul-2025
Reuters
South Korea won its latest appeal in its dispute with US hedge fund Elliott over the 2015 merger of two affiliates of Samsung, shortly after the electronics group’s Chairman Jay Y. Lee was cleared by South Korea’s top court.
18-Jul-2025
Kosova Press
The European Commission has referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union for refusing to comply with a key European Union ruling on investor-state arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty.
18-Jul-2025
AFTINET
New Zealand has firmly opposed including Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which covers 15 Asia-Pacific countries.
17-Jul-2025
Veblen Institute
Study on the French network of bilateral investment treaties.
16-Jul-2025
Blue Gold
Ghana terminated FGRBPL’s mining leases in 2024, prompting BGHL to challenge the decision under the UK-Ghana BIT via arbitration in 2025. If unsuccessful, BGHL risks losing its leases and mining plans. The outcome remains uncertain.
16-Jul-2025
Linkedin
A Canadian company is threatening private arbitration under the Canada–Costa Rica investment treaty, claiming Costa Rica violated the treaty by halting a landfill project in Turrúcares, even as the proper domestic legal process is unfolding.
15-Jul-2025
Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
From July 14 to 16, the following meeting will be held in Honduras: Without Human Rights, There Is No Energy Sovereignty: A meeting of communities affected by energy projects in southern Honduras, a country facing an avalanche of international arbitration claims in secretive corporate courts, more than a third of which come from the renewable energy sector.
10-Jul-2025
Council of Foreign Relations
Although fossil fuel phase-outs are critical to achieving global climate goals, protections granted through Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions to foreign-owned coal operations expose governments to costly litigation, threatening to thwart state action.
9-Jul-2025
The Edge Malaysia
Malaysian CSOs have urged the government to reject the inclusion of the ISDS clause in the RCEP agreement. They warn that ISDS allows foreign investors to sue governments over policies safeguarding public interests like health, workers, and the environment, potentially leading to costly legal battles and large payouts detrimental to national budgets.
7-Jul-2025
NDTV
India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said.
7-Jul-2025
bilaterals.org
Civil society organisations from the 15 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), call upon RCEP governments to continue to exclude Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) from the RCEP.
