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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.

Want to sue Venezuela for millions? These firms can help, for a price
21-Dec-2018 Reuters
Investment funds backing a slew of big-dollar corporate lawsuits has boomed over the past decade, fueled by favorable court rulings and investors seeking juicy returns.
The fossil fuel era is coming to an end, but the lawsuits are just beginning
19-Dec-2018 The Conversation
Westmoreland Coal is suing Canada because it did not receive a transition payment following Alberta’s coal phaseout plan. For the province, coal mining companies have no role to play in the energy transition.
Today we work to build something else than free trade, says Javier Echaide of Attac Argentina
18-Dec-2018 bilaterals.org
Interview with Javier Echaide, lawyer and member of Attac Argentina
Trade agreements and the land: Investment agreements and their potential impacts on land governance
18-Dec-2018 Global Development and Environment Institute
While promising economic growth, large-scale land investment deals have caused increased inequality, widespread displacement of people, and destruction of natural resources.
The legal clause which could allow Adani to sue Australia
17-Dec-2018 The Guardian
Global corporations should not have special legal rights to undermine the policies of democratically elected governments.
Westwater files international arbitration request against Republic of Turkey
14-Dec-2018 AP
Westwater Resources, an energy materials development company, announced the filing of a request for arbitration against the Republic of Turkey for the taking of its Temrezli and Şefaatli uranium projects in June 2018.
A summary of public concerns on investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement
14-Dec-2018 Third World Network
International investment agreements, specifically bilateral investment treaties and the investment chapters in free trade agreements, have come under the spotlight for what are seen as skewed provisions that grant excessive rights to foreign investors.
BITs of Bangladesh: Are they national interest friendly?
5-Dec-2018 The Daily Star
Bangladesh has about 30 BITs of which those with international arbitration provisions tilt to protect corporate interests more than the national interest of Bangladesh as reflected in the Saipem, Chevron, and Niko arbitrations.
Land reform blow: Zimbabwe must pay foreign investor US$195m; World Bank unit dismisses Harare’s bid to annul award
28-Nov-2018 Pazimbabwe
The ICSID has rejected Zimbabwe’s application to annul an US$195 million award to a German family whose property was expropriated under the controversial land reform programme.
Venezuela pays miner $425 million in move to safeguard Citgo
27-Nov-2018 Bloomberg
Venezuela made an partial payment of a settlement designed to resolve a $1.2 billion arbitration award to a bankrupt Canadian gold miner that’s laying claim to the assets of the parent of refiner Citgo Holding Inc. if it’s not paid in full.
Abritration Court awards South American Silver $28 million for Malku Khota in Bolivia
26-Nov-2018 Mining.com
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has awarded South American Silver $18.7 million for amounts invested and another $9 million in interest for its Malku Khota concession, which the Bolivian government revoked in 2012.
US coal firm launches NAFTA suit against Alberta over coal phase-out
20-Nov-2018 The Globe and Mail
A US coal miner is launching a NAFTA suit against Alberta over its policy to phase out coal in the electricity system by 2030.
PHA4: Neoliberal policies and corporate takeover are the cause of the world health crisis
19-Nov-2018 Peoples Dispatch
Multinational corporations are suing countries for using generic versions of life saving medicines.
Arbitration against the Kingdom of Spain: final award
16-Nov-2018 Globe Newswire
The net award for Athena Investments amounts to approx. EUR 11M.
Govt mulls delinking investment from FTAs, seeks legal opinion
15-Nov-2018 BusinessLine
Certain ISDS (Investor-state dispute settlement) cases against India led it to review its stand on investment treaties.
Slovakia does not have to compensate the Union private health insurer
9-Nov-2018 Slovak Spectator
The German Supreme Court dismissed the original arbitration decision against Slovakia concerning the ban on health-insurance companies’ profits.
Special economic zones: engines of development or sites of exploitation?
8-Nov-2018 IIED
Many SEZs have been associated with compressions of land, labour and human rights. Investment treaties protect investments against adverse regulatory change, including in SEZs. To date, investors have brought at least 20 arbitrations to challenge diverse aspects of SEZ regimes.
Keynote address by George Kahale, III
6-Nov-2018 Curtis
Combined with the dispute settlement mechanism of international arbitration, investment treaties have been transformed intol "weapons of legal destruction."
Miners want ISDS in Indonesia free trade agreement
2-Nov-2018 Australian Financial Review
Businesses in the mining sector and beyond insist protection for Australian investors in Indonesia is required in a free trade deal.
The limitations of the UNCITRAL process on ISDS reform
30-Oct-2018 SOMO
The UNCITRAL process runs a real risk of producing middle-ground solutions that will fail to address the fundamental flaws of the ISDS system and will only further institutionalise and re-legitimise the system.