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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.

Romulo warns Aquino against hasty decision on NAIA 3 case
16-Aug-2010
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo advised President Aquino against deciding hastily on the case involving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3), warning the government could be at a disadvantage.
Philip Morris International claims against Uruguay without merit.
12-Aug-2010 Marketwire
A legal analysis of the challenge launched by Philip Morris International found the company to be both unjustified and unreasonable in its opposition to Uruguay’s new tobacco packaging laws.
Maps of corporations to gain new rights to sue under Korea FTA
12-Aug-2010 Eyes on Trade
Public Citizen now have exclusive Google maps of the locations of corporations that would gain new rights to challenge public interest laws under the US-Korea FTA.
Vivendi: Arbitrator Reaffirms Ruling, $105M Award Vs Argentina
11-Aug-2010
French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.FR) Tuesday said the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, reaffirmed its original ruling and financial award in favour of the company in a long-running dispute with Argentina.
World Bank approves mining company suit against El Salvador
11-Aug-2010
In a decision with implications for the national sovereignty of member states under US trade pacts, a World Bank tribunal has approved a Canadian mining company’s controversial lawsuit against the government of El Salvador.
South Africa: Court rules against Italian investors
11-Aug-2010 Business Day
An international arbitration tribunal in The Hague has dismissed an objection by Italian investors claiming that SA’s black economic empowerment requirements represented expropriation and violated the country’s bilateral investment treaties with Italy and the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union.
Chevron urges arbitration in $27 bln Ecuador case
6-Aug-2010 Reuters
Chevron Corp urged a US federal appeals court not to force it into Ecuador’s courts, but to allow it to go to international arbitration, to defend a $27.4 bn lawsuit alleging its oilfields polluted the Amazon rainforest and sickened thousands of Ecuadorians.
Argentina scores second win in World Bank arbitration committee
3-Aug-2010 Dow Jones
The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or Icsid, dismissed the claims lodged by Enron Creditors Recovery Corp and Ponderosa Assets L.P. late Friday.
ICSID cancels another sentence against Argentina
2-Aug-2010 Buenos Aires Herald
A committee of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled in favour of Argentina and cancelled a decision by which it had been condemned to pay more than US$106 million to shareholding companies of the local Southern Gas Conveyor (TGS)
International arbitration on SL oil hedging tomorrow
27-Jul-2010 Sunday Times
A dispute initiated by Deutsche Bank against the government of Sri Lanka will be a test case on whether derivatives contracts should be considered ’investments’ under bilateral investment treaties
Ghana wins arbitration dispute with German investor
30-Jun-2010 GNA
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has, in a landmark ruling, granted an award in favour of Ghana over an arbitration dispute instituted against her on September 24, 2007 by a German investment company, Gustav F. W. Hamester.
Pan American Energy takes Bolivia to ICSID over nationalization of Chaco Petroleum
12-May-2010 ITN
Anglo-Argentinean energy firm Pan American Energy has initiated arbitration against Bolivia over the nationalization of its subsidiary Chaco Petroleum by the Morales government in 2009.
Will Chevron get away with destroying the Amazon?
20-Apr-2010 Change.org
Litigation over the ecological disaster that is Lago Agrio has produced a decades-long narrative that rivals Finnegans Wake in complexity.
The global investment agenda - an OECD perspective
17-Mar-2010 OECD
According to the OECD, there are 3000 bilateral and regional investment agreements in existence today yet a reluctance to enforce investor-state arbitral awards. OECD wants to draw up a "Model Investment Treaty" to harmonise things.
Chevron wins bid for Ecuador arbitration
12-Mar-2010 SF Chronicle
Steven Donziger, an attorney who represents the Ecuadorans suing Chevron, complained that the lawsuit’s plaintiffs won’t be able to participate in the arbitration proceeding, which will only involve Chevron and the Ecuadoran government. The plaintiffs, he said, will push forward with their lawsuit, regardless.
US judge rules for Chevron in Ecuador case
12-Mar-2010 Reuters
Chevron Corp may pursue an international arbitration claim over environmental pollution allegations in Ecuador, a judge ruled on Thursday, part of a long-running case that carries a potential $27 billion liability for the second-largest US oil company.
Uruguay: Philip Morris files first-known investment treaty claim against tobacco regulations
11-Mar-2010 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
The move is certain to be closely watched by international lawyers and policymakers alike, as it will serve as an early test-case of the little-used intellectual property protections contained in BITs.
Ecuador sees ruling in Occidental case in second half of year
10-Mar-2010 Wall St Journal
The World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes may soon rule on a case brought by US oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp. against Ecuador
Philip Morris vs. Uruguay
8-Mar-2010 FPIF
Uruguay’s new health legislation, expected to go into effect in March 2010, requires that 80 percent of each side of cigarette boxes be covered by graphic images of the possible detrimental health effects of smoking. Philip Morris argues that this limits the space for branding and thus infringes on its intellectual property rights.
Latin America faces 61% of ongoing mining cases at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes
6-Mar-2010 NJGI
In the context of high global prices for natural resources, particularly gold and oil, Latin American governments seeking to increase the benefits of those resources for their own people are finding themselves increasingly targeted by investor lawsuits.