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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.

Is TPP a public health threat?
21-Jul-2016 Viet Nam News
The Vietnamese Government should bar certain industries from exploiting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) lest they damage public health, health activists warned.
Celebrating Uruguay’s ISDS victory over Philip Morris?
19-Jul-2016 The Next Turn
A private ISDS tribunal has just ruled in favor of Uruguay over its tobacco labeling legislation. But why do we even allow this game to take place in the first place, regardless of the chance of a fatal outcome.
World Bank panel rejects lawsuit against Peru over smelter
19-Jul-2016 Reuters
A World Bank panel rejected a lawsuit filed against Peru by New York-based Renco Group Inc on technical grounds.
Remodeling India’s investment treaty regime
18-Jul-2016 The Wire
India is seeking to terminate BITs signed with 57 countries and sign joint interpretative statements with the other 25 treaty states – all an outcome of the country’s new model BIT.
Cairn Energy wants $ 5.6 billion compensation from India for ’unlawful’ tax demand
13-Jul-2016 The Economic Times
Cairn Plc has claimed compensation of $5.6 billion from India in legal proceedings against the retrospective tax demand.
India wants new foreign investment pacts to limit lawsuits
11-Jul-2016 The Indian Express
The notifications, issued earlier this year, effectively let governments know they have 12 months to broker new treaties before the old ones expire.
Phillip Morris loses tough-on-tobacco lawsuit in Uruguay
9-Jul-2016 Reuters
The World Bank’s ICSID ruled in favor of Uruguay in a suit filed by Philip Morris International seeking compensation for economic damages caused by the nation’s anti-tobacco measures.
Spanish agriculture firms file arbitration claim against Venezuela
8-Jul-2016 Reuters
Spanish agriculture company Grupo Agroinsumos Ibero-americanos and associated firms have filed an arbitration case against Venezuela via a World Bank tribunal, seeking compensation for the 2010 nationalization of its operations.
Chevron shareholders still wary of risks from $11 billion Ecuador judgment
8-Jul-2016 CSR Strategy Group
Chevron shareholders remain wary of the risks from an $11 billion judgment against the company in Ecuador. They also continue to be critical of Chevron management’s mishandling of the case.
CETA’s specter of corporate dictatorship still haunts Canada, EU
8-Jul-2016 Counterpunch
CETA, like its cousins TTP and TTIP, would cement into place the right of multi-national corporations to dictate to governments without any democratic input.
Mongolia’s experience with investment treaties and arbitration cases
5-Jul-2016 TNI
Mongolia’s web of international investment agreements and the promise of development
The ISDS controversy: How we got here and where next
30-Jun-2016 E15 Initiative
In recent years the debate over investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) has heated up and in Europe is reaching boiling point
India’s narrow BIT norms holding up trade pact
28-Jun-2016 Domain-b
The new model text on the basis of which India is negotiating its Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT) is making it difficult for America to hold bilateral talks on the proposed India-US BIT
Protecting the government in investor-state dispute
28-Jun-2016 The Jakarta Post
The Indonesian government is currently reviewing all its international investment treaties after previously having terminated 20 bilateral investment treaties (BIT).
TransCanada Corp moves forward with Keystone XL NAFTA challenge
27-Jun-2016 Financial Post
TransCanada Corp. made good on its threat to challenge the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, filing a request for arbitration under NAFTA to recoup US$15 billion in damages from the U.S. government.
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.