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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.

Canada given advance notice of Trump’s NAFTA demands
19-Jan-2017 The Globe and Mail
The Americans want to discuss country of origin rules and the independent dispute-settlement mechanism.
Law in the natural resource squeeze: ’land grabbing’, investment treaties and human rights
18-Jan-2017 IIED
Lorenzo Cotula discusses highlights from his latest academic piece, in which he explores whether investment treaties protect ’land grab’ deals, and how these impact the land rights of rural people.
European lawmakers vote to pursue tar sands oil friendly trade deal with Canada
14-Jan-2017 Desmog
EU lawmakers voted for the European Parliament to push ahead with a trade deal that could encourage Canadian tar sand oil imports and make it easier for energy companies to sue governments when environmental policies threaten their profits.
Will the RCEP morph into another TPP?
12-Jan-2017 Third World Resurgence
In highlighting that the drafts of many of its key chapters are substantially similar to those of the TPP, Sanya Reid Smith warns that the RCEP may end up as a replica of the former.
Lessons to learn from the demise of the TPP
9-Jan-2017 The Wire
With the imminent demise of the Tran-Pacific Partnership Agreement almost certain, there are many lessons to be learnt from the fraudulent free trade deal.
Romania seeks World Heritage status for Transylvania village in gold mine row
7-Jan-2017 Reuters
Romania has asked the United Nations to make a Transylvanian village boasting 18th century houses and intact Roman mining shafts into a World Heritage site in move that could protect it from a gold mine project.
Axos Capital files €400m Kosovo lawsuit
7-Jan-2017 Global Telecoms Business
ACP Axos Capital is suing the Kosovo government for €400m as a result of its failed bid to buy Kosovo Telecom.
Relative treatment of aliens: firm-level evidence from developing countries
5-Jan-2017 University of Oxford
Foreign firms tend to be treated at least as well by host state governments as comparable domestic firms in the vast majority of cases. There is a political advantage, as opposed to liability, of being a foreign firm.
Investigation: As Colombia pushes for cancer drug price-cut and considers compulsory licensing, Novartis responds with quiet filing of an investment treaty notice
2-Jan-2017 IA Reporter
Novartis lodged a formal notice of dispute under the Switzerland-Colombia BIT.
Venezuela loses annulment of Tidewater expropriation ICSID award
2-Jan-2017 Latin American Herald Tribune
The annulment committee formed by the World Bank’s ICSID has ruled that Venezuela must pay oil services company Tidewater $37 million for the expropriation of its ships and rigs in 2009.
The year 2016 for India – of new beginnings and not-so-happy endings?
29-Dec-2016 Kluwer Arbitration Blog
While India has been reshaping its arbitration laws and investment climate, the jury is still out on whether these measures will actually help create a more secure legal environment for investors.
6 ways we could improve NAFTA for working people
21-Dec-2016 AFL-CIO
It is important that everyday working people’s perspectives lead the debate, starting with how to rewrite NAFTA.
Argentina is back in the BIT negotiation arena
21-Dec-2016 Investment Claims
The recent signature of the Argentina-Qatar Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and the imminent signature of an Argentina-Japan BIT represent a shift in Argentina’s BIT policy.
When you thought trade deals could not get any worse — enter Wall Street
19-Dec-2016 Sierra Club
What connects two proposed gold mines, one in the high-altitude wetlands of Colombia and one in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania?
Brexit and foreign investors’ legitimate expectations
19-Dec-2016 Kluwer Arbitration Blog
Might Brexit trigger foreign investor claims against the United Kingdom?
The hidden costs of RCEP and corporate trade deals in Asia
16-Dec-2016 Friends of the Earth International
RCEP also includes the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS), which is facing increasing public criticism and scrutiny worldwide.
Pakistan favours multilateral dispute resolution
16-Dec-2016 The News
Pakistan favours the resolution of trade disputes through established multilateral settlement systems instead of ad-hoc tribunals, an official said.
Winning arbitration case
15-Dec-2016 Jakarta Post
The Indonesian government should stick to its policy of removing the investor-state dispute-settlement (ISDS) mechanism from its bilateral investment or trade treaties.
Venezuela ordered to pay steelmaker Tenaris $162 million for takeover
15-Dec-2016 Reuters
A World Bank tribunal ordered Venezuela to pay steelmaker Tenaris SA $162 million for expropriating two investments in the country
EU, Canada to launch investor protection court proposal
15-Dec-2016 Bloomberg
The European Union and Canada will launch a proposal for a new global investment court system for settlements of disputes between states and foreign investors over discriminatory treatment.