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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.

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
Coalition may add clause to Japan trade deal that lets foreign companies sue Australia
8-Jun-2016 The Guardian
Provision allows firms to sue in international tribunal if laws introduced or changed that hurt their interests.
Eco-groups join in $ 101M Bilcon quarry fight
8-Jun-2016 The Chronicle Herald
The environmental lobby is going to bat for the federal and provincial governments against international big business in a $101-million argument.
U.S. top court rejects Ecuador challenge to Chevron arbitration award
8-Jun-2016 Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a $96 million international arbitration award issued in 2011 in favor of energy company Chevron in a dispute over the development of oil fields in Ecuador.
Canadian junior miner, Colombia in trade dispute over rights at national park
8-Jun-2016 Financial Post
A small Canadian mining company has found itself at the centre of a highly charged dispute over its rights to mine for gold in a Colombian nature reserve.
Labor pledges to review trade deals that let companies sue Australia
8-Jun-2016 The Guardian
ALP says it will try to change three major agreements that allow corporations to sue if they think a government has damaged their interests