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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.

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.
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.