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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.

How ‘blood mineral’ traders in Rwanda are helping fund Congo rebels – and undermining global supply chains
6-Aug-2021 The Globe and Mail
New evidence from a UN report and a high-profile investor arbitration case is casting a spotlight on Rwanda’s role in sophisticated smuggling networks that extract gold and coltan from Congolese conflict zones and funnel the strategically important minerals illicitly into global supply chains.
India to scrap retrospective tax law in olive branch to global firms
6-Aug-2021 Reuters
India proposed scrapping a controversial law that taxed companies retrospectively, a move that could potentially settle its multi-billion-dollar tax cases with Cairn Energy and Vodafone.
Pakistan to terminate 23 bilateral investment treaties
5-Aug-2021 The Express Tribune
Decision aimed at avoiding international arbitration with foreign firms .
Vicat takes dispute with Egyptian state to international arbitration
4-Aug-2021 Global Cement
France-based Vicat raised a case against the Egyptian government with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in late June 2021. It concerns its cement production business.
Experts seek AfCFTA dispute resolution mechanism for non-state parties
3-Aug-2021 The Guardian
Ahead of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) implementation in Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and other stakeholders are seeking dispute resolution mechanisms that will address concerns of non-state entities.
Corporate courts vs the environment
3-Aug-2021 Al Jazeera
Corporate courts were invented to protect the West’s control of the world against decolonisation. They are now undermining attempts to halt climate change.
Ex-Yukos unit wins new $5 billion court judgement against Russia
30-Jul-2021 Bloomberg
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Russia illegally expropriated loans provided by Yukos Capital Sarl to its former parent company.
White farmer enlists US federal court in enforcing US$277m arbitral award against Zimbabwe
28-Jul-2021 Bulawayo
Bernhard von Pezold and his family have enlisted the help of a US federal court in Washington DC in enforcing a US$277 million arbitral award against Zimbabwe.
Ancient Romanian gold mine given UNESCO protection
28-Jul-2021 Balkan Insight
The derailment of the plans led Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources to sue the Romanian government for $5.7 billion before the Washington-based ICSID.
Indiana Resources : Compensation claim of AU$127m lodged against Tanzania
27-Jul-2021 Market Screener
Indiana Resources files a memorial on the arbitration with Tanzania over the expropriation of the Ntaka Hill Nickel Project, whereby it claims the amount of AU$127 million, including interest which continues to accrue.
One step forward, two steps back in the struggle against anti-democratic corporate trade rules
26-Jul-2021 Inequality.org
Pakistan is the latest country to reject the system that allows private investors to sue governments in international tribunals. But Ecuador is back-tracking and the lawsuits continue to proliferate.
Romania mining town Rosia Montana eyes UNESCO restart
23-Jul-2021 France 24
Meanwhile, Gabriel Resources has taken Romania before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, seeking $4.4 billion (3.7 billion euros) in damages.
New Ecuadorian government teams up with powerful international lobbies to rejoin investment treaties prohibited by the constitution
15-Jul-2021 Institute for New Economic Thinking
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) allow foreign capitalists to run roughshod over the rights of Ecuadorians.
Imran okays new bilateral investment treaty template
13-Jul-2021 Dawn
Pakistan Prime Minister has approved the new Bilateral Investment Treaty template whereby any dispute will now be remedied through local arbitration.
Britain’s Cairn gets French court order to seize 20 Indian properties in Paris
8-Jul-2021 The Tribune
The centrally located properties mostly comprise flats, valued at more than EUR 20 million, used by the Indian government establishment in France.
Leaked diplomatic cables show ‘limited progress’ in Energy Charter Treaty reform talks
7-Jul-2021 Euractiv
Little progress has been made to modernise a controversial agreement on energy investments that activists warn could derail decarbonisation efforts in Europe and across the globe, according to leaked documents.
’Disgusting’: Pipeline company files $15 billion claim against US for canceled Keystone XL
6-Jul-2021 Common Dreams
TC Energy Corporation filed for compensation under a free trade provision that allows investors to sue governments if they impede profits.
More than 400 civil society organisations say: Leave the ECT by COP26
6-Jul-2021 S2B Network
More than 400 are calling on political leaders across all European countries to prioritise climate policies, to stick to their climate commitments, and therefore to initiate withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty by COP26.
US$15 billion ISDS claim against USA over Keystone XL oil pipeline cancellation
5-Jul-2021 AFTINET
TC Energy has lodged a US$15 billion Investor-State Dispute Settlement claim against the US government.
Prairie makes a claim against Polish government
29-Jun-2021 Mining Weekly
Prairie Mining has filed a £806-million statement of claim for compensation against the Republic of Poland as part of its ongoing international arbitration claims.