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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.

Government concealed failure to cancel the old, worse version of ISDS in new Indonesia trade deal
11-Apr-2019 AFTINET
Detailed scrutiny of the text of the recent Indonesia trade deal has revealed that there are no provisions to cancel the old 1993 Indonesia-Australia bilateral investment agreement.
We the people reject ISDS. So why are our governments trying to expand it?
9-Apr-2019 Stop ISDS
A permanent Multilateral Investment Court pushed by the European Union could make ISDS worse by scaling it up.
Corbella: Notley’s ’beating down’ of the oil patch should cost her the election
9-Apr-2019 Calgary Herald
The Czech-based company Petrolama Namur Oil Sands Exploration filed a notice of dispute against Canada on March 29 over the delay in completing the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
As the world meets to discuss ISDS, many fear meaningless reforms
8-Apr-2019 TNI
ISDS lawyers appear to hold administrative positions within the working group and are represented in large numbers in the advisory bodies that have been established for the working group.
Sharpening clash as UN body reviews investor rights to sue governments (ISDS)
8-Apr-2019 AFTINET
Advocates of ISDS (industrialised countries and lawyers from the ‘arbitration industry’) dominate the running of the Working Group and its advisory bodies. Civil society is underrepresented.
The case of Chevron in the Ecuadorian Amazon: the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada closes the doors to end impunity
5-Apr-2019 Stop Corporate Power
The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples´ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and End Impunity regrets the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the case of Chevron in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Trump’s damaged NAFTA deal
5-Apr-2019 The American Prospect
USMCA bears many resemblances to NAFTA, which has been cited as a driver of low-wage corporate outsourcing.
Kingsgate prepares for legal challenge to mine closure
1-Apr-2019 Bangkok Post
The Australian mining company Kingsgate Consolidated, armed with a US$55-million insurance payout for the closure of its gold mine in Thailand, says it now has the financial means to pursue its arbitration case against the Thai government.
Indonesia wins $469 mn arbitration case against Indian metal firm IMFA
1-Apr-2019 Business Standard
Indonesia has won a $469 million arbitration case against India’s Metal Ferro and Alloys Ltd (IMFA) after nearly four years of court battles
Australia - Hong Kong investment agreement
31-Mar-2019
As released by the Australian Government
US Odyssey Marine will sue Mexico; accuses blockade to submarine mining
28-Mar-2019 The Mazatlán Post
The US company notified its intention to claim compensation of 3,540 million dollars from the Mexican government.
Chevron vs Ecuador: international arbitration and corporate impunity
28-Mar-2019 Open Democracy
The infamous story of the environmental pollution of the Ecuadorian Amazon by Chevron-Texaco – which has come to be known as the "Ecuadorian Chernobyl" - is entering a new phase.
Vancouver mining company Eco Oro sues Colombia over protection of Santurbán wetland
27-Mar-2019 Rabble
While Eco Oro claims to have invested US$250 million in the project, it is seeking US$764 million as compensation for the cancellation of the project.
Hong Kong FTA would still allow foreign investors to sue our government, says AFTINET
27-Mar-2019 AFTINET
The Australia-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement and separate Investment Agreement signed still give special rights to foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments for millions of dollars in international tribunals
Egypt - British Petroceltic files arbitration case against EGPC
26-Mar-2019 MENAFN
British Petroceltic announced filing an arbitration case against the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) at the World Bank Group’s ICSID.
Why NZ must get rid of ISDS now
25-Mar-2019 Scoop
Australia’s costs for tobacco case it won show why NZ must get rid of ISDS now.
End of Tanzania, Netherlands pact nears
25-Mar-2019 The Citizen
The preferential protection of bilateral investments between Tanzania and the Netherlands is likely to cease next month but the protection for investments made before the date of termination continues to apply for a period of 15 years (until 1 April 2034).
Media release: Philip Morris paying only half of Australia’s costs in ISDS case is outrageous, says AFTINET
22-Mar-2019 AFTINET
It has taken a second FOI case and another two years to reveal that Australian taxpayers were only awarded half of the costs of defending Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws against tobacco giant Philip Morris in March 2017.
ICSID arbitration Churchill v Republic of Indonesia: Annulment proceedings dismissed
20-Mar-2019 Churchill Mining
The annulment committee has dismissed Churchill’s application for annulment of the award for the dispute arising out of the revocation of the mining licenses that made up the East Kutai Coal Project in East Kalimantan.
Venezuela’s Guaido to appeal $8.75 billion ConocoPhillips award
15-Mar-2019 Bloomberg
Venezuela’s opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido plans to appeal a $8.75 billion award issued to ConocoPhillips by the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal last week.