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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.

Brexit will need new dispute resolution mechanism
3-Feb-2017 Law Gazette
A new mechanism for dispute resolution between the UK and the EU will be needed following Brexit.
Putting human rights and investor obligations first
3-Feb-2017 TNI
We urge all stakeholders involved in the EU-Mexico FTA negotiations to replace the current far-reaching liberalisation and deregulation agenda with an agreement that regulates investment
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
1-Feb-2017 OHCHR
The report provides an analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Theresa May’s Brexit plan will leave Britain subject to secret global trade courts
31-Jan-2017 Buzzfeed
Experts say that to agree trade deals outside the EU, the UK will have to sign up to an “unaccountable” legal system that can force states to overturn laws corporations don’t like.
Brazil’s bilateral investment treaties: More than a new investment treaty model?
30-Jan-2017 Columbia FDI Perspectives
Brazil has finally become a player in the international investment regime, but it represents a peculiar case in foreign investment relations.
Air Canada appeals to World Bank over Venezuela funds
28-Jan-2017 Ch-aviation
Air Canada registered a case with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to recover USD35 million in blocked funds.
Environmentalists earn TPP victory as wins will be rare under Trump
26-Jan-2017 Observer
The TransCanada lawsuit became virtually meaningless as Trump signed an executive order to continue construction of the Keystone XL
Comment: Selling the proposal for a multilateral investment court to the world
24-Jan-2017 Borderlex
In reality, the EU’s plans are not realistic in the current international context, nor will they appease ISDS critics
India rejects attempts by EU, Canada for global investment agreement
24-Jan-2017 The Hindu
India, along with Brazil, Argentina and some other nations, has rejected an informal attempt by the European Union and Canada to work towards a global investment agreement that would incorporate a contentious ISDS mechanism.
Iran’s accession to ICSID: What to expect?
24-Jan-2017 EFILA
Joining the ICSID will enhance international perceptions of Iran as a welcoming country to invest.
Trump won’t dump investor rights – and here’s why
19-Jan-2017 The Globe And Mail
What does Mr. Trump think about the constitution-like rights for the protection of foreign investors that are enforced via the system of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)?
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.