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.
28-Mar-2025
TNI
The landscape of financial profiteering from investor-state dispute settlement claims.
28-Mar-2025
Xinhua
The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament has approved the law on ratifying the agreement between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on encouragement and mutual protection of investments.
26-Mar-2025
Azernews
British oil and gas company Victoria Oil & Gas has filed a lawsuit against Kazakhstan, citing provisions under the Energy Charter Treaty.
26-Mar-2025
TNI
Despite criticism of the free trade agreement with the United States, Colombian President Gustavo Petro opted to reassess a series of clauses on investments and arbitration, instead of requesting a complete renegotiation.
25-Mar-2025
Foreign Policy in Focus
Extraordinary corporate privileges in US foreign and trade policy are designed to help companies win even when their investments fail.
25-Mar-2025
Reuters
The European Commission handed Spain a victory when it instructed the country not to pay any compensation in a case related to claims amounting to billions of euros on renewable energy subsidies cut more than a decade ago.
24-Mar-2025
Financial Post
Almadex has filed its memorial submission relating to its international arbitration proceedings under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership with Mexico, seeking damages of US$1.06 billion.
24-Mar-2025
Yonhap
South Korea has lost a lawsuit seeking to annul an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) ruling that ordered it to pay compensation to US hedge fund Mason Capital over losses from Samsung’s controversial 2015 merger of two units.
20-Mar-2025
London Stock Exchange
Ferrexpo plc has provided a formal written notification to Ukraine under international investment agreements in place between Ukraine and the United Kingdom and Ukraine and Switzerland.
20-Mar-2025
Romania Journal
The Romanian state has lost a lawsuit pending before the International Court of Arbitration in Washington, initiated in 2020 by an investor in the renewable energy sector.
18-Mar-2025
Public Seminar
How an unregulated techno-utopia came into existence and continues to sabotage a nation’s sovereignty.
14-Mar-2025
Financial Post
The action is being taken under the umbrella of the free trade agreement between Peru and Canada.
13-Mar-2025
Arab News
Egypt’s parliament has approved a bilateral investment protection agreement with Saudi Arabia, aiming to boost capital inflows, create jobs, and strengthen economic ties between the two nations.
10-Mar-2025
The Guardian
Investor–state dispute settlements don’t just mean growing debt burdens for countries: they are also a barrier to action on the climate crisis.
10-Mar-2025
Land and Climate Review
Exxon owes the people of Groningen millions in compensation for damage caused by gas extraction. Thanks to an obscure legal instrument, it could be the residents of the province that end up compensating the fossil fuel giant.
10-Mar-2025
Koha
Kosovo will pay over 6.7 million euros to MabCo Constructions, owned by former President Behgjet Pacolli, following a decision by the Arbitration Tribunal in Washington.
7-Mar-2025
The Guardian
Companies can sue governments for closing oilfields and mines – and the risk of huge damages is already stopping countries from passing green laws, ministers say.
7-Mar-2025
Inside Climate News
Communities and ecosystems across the globe face heavy environmental damage from intensifying mining operations. A people’s tribunal probed the Canadian mining industry’s impact on the natural world and the people defending it.
6-Mar-2025
The Guardian
Fossil-fuel and mining firms have won $92bn of public money from states, with a growing number of cases backed by financial speculators
6-Mar-2025
PR Newswire
The arbitration arises from Venezuela’s measures that deprived GR Mining of its rights to, and materially damaged its investment in, the multi-billion-dollar Siembra Minera mining project located in Venezuela.
