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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.

The transatlantic free trade treaty: the climate’s enemy
14-Apr-2016 Reporterre
Threats against environmental directives, legal arbitration against States, the growth of trade generating CO2… while discussions between the United States and the European Union continue, the author of this article demonstrates that this treaty is incompatible with the Paris Agreement on Climate.
French court rules in favor of Russia’s Roscosmos in Yukos assets seizure case
14-Apr-2016 Moscow Times
Russian space agency Roscosmos has won a court action in France concerning $700 million in payments owed to the company, which were seized by French authorities.
France seizes $ 1 billion in Russian state assets
13-Apr-2016 Politico
France has seized $700 million in Russian state assets at the initiative of former Yukos shareholders.
High Court the final authority? Think again
11-Apr-2016 Sidney Morning Herald
US mining company Nucoil is using a free trade agreement to put pressure on the Australian government to pay compensation over cancelled licences.
TDM 1 (2016) - CETA Special
7-Apr-2016 TDM
This is the first detailed collection of reviews of CETA after its latest revisions, including the reworked Investment Chapter with an investment court replacing international arbitration.
Venezuela ordered to pay Crystallex US$ 1.386 billion in arbitration ruling
6-Apr-2016 Financial Post
An arbitration tribunal has ordered the Venezuelan government to pay a whopping US$1.386 billion to Canadian miner Crystallex International Corp.
It’s not just Europeans who will feel the consequences of TTIP
5-Apr-2016 New Statesman
One element of TTIP has been largely ignored – the deal’s impact on developing countries.
Dette : l’Argentine prête à verser 50 millions à BNP Paribas
4-Apr-2016 Les Echos
Dans le sillage des accords avec les fonds « vautours », Buenos Aires accepte de verser 52 millions de dollars à BNP Paribas.
Mining company files ISDS case against Panama
1-Apr-2016 Politico
New York-based Dominion Minerals Corporation decided to move ahead with an investor-state dispute case against the Panamanian government.
New analysis shows ’frivolous’ corporate sovereignty suits increasingly used to deter regulation rather than win compensation
1-Apr-2016 Tech Dirt
Why would investors continue to file these highly costly cases, if the expected success rate is so low?
Investment protection in ASEAN – part 1: the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement
31-Mar-2016 ASEAN Briefing
The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) was adopted in 2009 to establish an investment environment based on international best practices.
US and China close in on a bilateral investment treaty
29-Mar-2016 Economy Watch
Chinese officials announced that a US-China bilateral investment treaty (BIT) is close to being signed.
Why developing countries are dumping investment treaties
25-Mar-2016 The Conversation
Bilateral investment treaties have been a source of political controversy in recent years. This is clear from the alarming increase in the number of disputes between investors and governments.
To change a BIT is not enough
22-Mar-2016 Both Ends
On the need to create sound policy frameworks for investment.
Protecting the Santurban páramo from Angostura mining project
18-Mar-2016 AIDA
High-altitude wetlands that provide drinking water to more than two million people could become one of the world’s biggest gold and silver mines.
The gold-plated CETA: whose gold and at what cost?
17-Mar-2016 IISD
Does the agreement reflect 21st century needs and standards?
Navigating governments’ obligations in the context of land investments
17-Mar-2016 Earth Institute
A new report from the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment explores the dilemmas posed by land investments under international investment treaties and human rights law.
Organisations condemn Eco Oro Minerals’ warning that it could sue Colombia over efforts to protect water sources
16-Mar-2016 CIEL
The Canadian company’s Angostura mining project in the high-altitude wetlands, or páramo, of Santurbán, has announced that it could file an international arbitration suit against Colombia over measures to protect the páramo, which are important sources of water in the country.
Is ISDS in EU trade agreements legal under EU law?
15-Mar-2016 IISD
The legality of investor­­–state dispute settlement (ISDS), including in the form of an Investment Court System (ICS), in EU trade agreements under EU law is a contentious issue among academics and legal experts.
International investment law, development and sovereignty: no harm?
13-Mar-2016 Alternautas
The Oxy II awards subvert the notion of sovereignty: by whom and how a country’s natural resources are used becomes a minor question as long as wealth is maximised.