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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.

Free trade agreements not the great deal we’ve been sold
27-Jun-2016 Sidney Morning Herald
Australian governments of late seem only to listen to the din of money as though that equates with national interest.
Tafta : la souveraineté kidnappée
27-Jun-2016 Alter Eco +
Jusqu’où peut-on pousser la logique du libre-échange ?
Iskandar Safa submits claim against the Hellenic Republic with ICSID
23-Jun-2016 PR Newswire
Iskandar Safa, co-owner of the Privinvest Group, a global player in the shipbuilding industry, which took control of Hellenic Shipyards SA, submitted a request for arbitration against the Hellenic Republic at the World Bank’s ICSID.
Les contentieux entre entreprises et Etats atteignent un niveau record
22-Jun-2016 Les Echos
En 2015, 70 nouveaux cas d’arbitrage entre entreprises et Etats ont été initiés. L’Espagne est en première ligne des Etats attaqués.
Government currently preparing draft of Government regulation on settlement of investment dispute
22-Jun-2016 Ministry of Finance of Republic of Indonesia
This regulation aims to enhance legal certainty in terms of ease of doing business and investment in Indonesia.
Why mining corporations love trade deals
22-Jun-2016 Huffington Post
From the salmon-spawning waters of Alaska to the cloud forests of Ecuador, communities are standing up to mining projects that threaten their health, environment, and livelihoods.
The evolving international investment law and policy regime: Ways forward
22-Jun-2016 ICTSD
How to encourage the flow of sustainable FDI for sustainable development? This article examines the state of the international investment law and policy regime and presents potential options for its reform.
Rural communities’ struggle against US-owned mine continues in Guatemalan Supreme Court
21-Jun-2016 Upside Down World
The long-running struggle of rural communities in Guatemala against the United States-based mining firm Kappes, Cassiday, and Associates (KCA) continues in Guatemala’s national courts.
Seoul prefers ISDS for its investment chapter but could consider ICS
20-Jun-2016 Vieuws
High-level South Korean diplomats have expressed their preference for the old investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system over the Investment Court System (ICS) in the framework of a future investment chapter in the EU-South Korea FTA.
Mining company threatens Guatemala with lawsuit in USA
20-Jun-2016 Prensa Latina
The Guatemala Mining Explorations (Exmingua) threatens with filing a lawsuit against Guatemala after being forced to suspend operations by decree of the Constitutional Court .
Investment act may clash with SADC treaty
17-Jun-2016 Business Day
Legal practitioners have been saying for some time now that SA’s Protection of Investment Act is not in sync with the country’s commitments under the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Finance and Investment.
An interview with Lauge Poulsen, author of Bounded Rationality and Economic Diplomacy
15-Jun-2016 IISD
Lauge Poulsen is a Lecturer in International Political Economy at University College London. His recent book explains why and how developing countries signed up to investment treaties.
Green NGOs welcome the parliamentary resolution on the free trade agreements
15-Jun-2016 Friends of the Earth Hungary
Environmentalists urge the government to turn to the European Court of Justice on the issue of the planned Investment Court System.
Pebble mine: Canadian mining company threatens to stick U.S. taxpayers with costs of “potentially catastrophic” mining scheme
14-Jun-2016 Huffington Post
Northern Dynasty is prepared to file a claim for “arbitration” under NAFTA, seeking compensation for the failure of the Pebble Mine project to move forward to federal permitting.
Unmasked: Corporate rights in the renewed Mexico-EU FTA
14-Jun-2016 TNI
The EU and Mexico launch negotiations for a ‘modernised’ Free Trade Agreement. A key feature is the investment protection chapter which grants major multinational companies in Mexico and the EU the exclusive right to challenge democratic decisions.
China-led trade agreement shrouded in deeper secrecy
13-Jun-2016 NZ Herald
Secretive negotiations for the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP began in November 2012. The 13th round is being held at SkyCity in Auckland.
Americanization of the BIT universe
9-Jun-2016 SSRN
Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCN) treaties are more than a historical precursor to international investment agreements (IIA) and continue to influence and inspire modern investment treaty design.
Big transatlantic market: yield and bow down
9-Jun-2016 MEDEL
MEDEL’s opinion on the construction of a international investment court for TTIP – proposal of the European Commission.
AngloGold suit against gov’t unnecessary - Ayikoi Otoo
9-Jun-2016 Ghana Web
AngloGold Ashanti’s decision to sue government at the ICSID over security concerns at its Obuasi concession has been described as “surprising” by private legal practitioner and former Attorney General, Ayikoi Otoo.
In Greece, standing against free trade agreements is standing for the planet
9-Jun-2016 TTIP Free Zones Europe
Aristoteli joined a growing movement of local authorities opposed to CETA and TTIP to deny the building of a polluter’s paradise