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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.

US proposes gutting Nafta legal-dispute tribunals
16-Oct-2017 Bloomberg
US Nafta negotiators are proposing to essentially do away with the independent tribunals that oversee the trading and investment relationship.
BoI working on its own template for BIT
16-Oct-2017 Business Recorder
The government of Pakistan would not be made liable for private investor disputes. Alternative dispute resolution mediation would be made compulsory, while foreign arbitrators would be decided in advance through consensus.
Invenergy says to take USD-700m Polish wind claim to intl arbitration
16-Oct-2017 Renewables Now
US clean energy company Invenergy LLC has notified the Polish authorities it plans to turn to international arbitration over its wind investments in the country, if no settlement is reached within six months.
RCEP: Robbing communities to extract profit
14-Oct-2017 APWLD
RCEP will give multinational corporations unprecedented rights
Multilateral Investment Court: an utterly flawed and unjust system
12-Oct-2017 EurActiv
The European Commission’s plans for a Multilateral Investment Court sanctions a biased and ineffective arbitration system, leaving people and the environment exposed to international investors’ whims.
Karuturi contemplates legal recourse for loss in Ethiopia
11-Oct-2017 The Reporter
Karuturi could sue the government of Ethiopia at international tribunals on the basis of violations of the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement India and Ethiopia have signed on.
What to do with "fair and equitable treatment" provisions?
11-Oct-2017 IELP Blog
US ISDS proposal in NAFTA would cut fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation.
Tanzania edges closer towards total mine nationalisation
5-Oct-2017 Mining Review Africa
New laws revolve around the notion that Tanzania’s domestic law is to be supreme over any international dispute or arbitration decision.
Mexico offers to match oil groups’ Nafta wish
28-Sep-2017 Argus
Mexico is considering writing into law investor-state dispute settlement provisions contained in the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) to reassure US and Canadian investors in its energy sector.
A look into China’s slowly increasing appearance in ISDS cases
27-Sep-2017 IISD
Recent decades have been marked by China’s economic, military and diplomatic rise, and its increasing integration into the international order.
Investment treaties and the internal vetting of regulatory proposals: A case study from Canada
27-Sep-2017 IISD
Does the prospect of foreign investor claims against countries in investor­–state dispute settlement (ISDS) lead to regulatory chill?
Brexit bonanza: Lawyers encouraging corporations to sue UK & EU member states
25-Sep-2017 Corporate Europe Observatory
Brexit could become a money-making machine for law firms that make millions when corporations sue nation states via trade and investment agreements.
Farmland investments are finding their way to international arbitration
22-Sep-2017 IISD
Swedish investor EcoDevelopment registered a claim at the ICSID against the Tanzanian government for revoking a land title amid concerns over the impact on local communities and a wildlife sanctuary.
Karkey Karadeniz case: In interest alone, govt owes $5.6m a month
22-Sep-2017 The Express Tribune
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has not only imposed a hefty fine on Pakistan but also declared that the country will be paying $5.6 million as interest per month.
International litigator imposes $700m fine on Pakistan in rental power plants case
21-Sep-2017 Daily Pakistan
Financially-strapped Pakistan has been imposed with a staggering $700 million in a damages suit by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) regarding rental power plants case.
EU court adviser says arbitration clause in investment treaty is legal
19-Sep-2017 Reuters
An arbitration clause in an investment treaty between the Netherlands and Slovakia does not violate EU law, an adviser to the EU’s top court said.
Russian energy firm Inter RAO demands $175m from Government of Georgia
18-Sep-2017 Agenda
Inter RAO structures claim $175 million loss was due to a refusal to raise energy tariffs when the Georgian national currency Lari was devaluated.
Sanofi Aventis Ukraine seeks to file claim to international court to protect investment in Ukraine
18-Sep-2017 Interfax
Sanofi Aventis Ukraine LLC, part of Sanofi global pharmaceutical company, seeks to file a claim against Ukraine to the International Investment Arbitration.
Multi-million dollar payment hangs over Zimbabwe
15-Sep-2017 ALB
Zimbabwe is in breach of two arbitral awards totalling USD 240 million, after it missed a deadline to pay investors whose land was seized as part of the government’s racially motivated land reforms.
Canada pushing to revamp NAFTA lawsuit provision
14-Sep-2017 The Globe and Mail
The goal of Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is to revamp Chapter 11 so it more closely mirrors the investor-state dispute-resolution mechanism that forms part of the 2016 Canada-European Union trade deal.