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.
2-Mar-2020
The Corner
Naturgy has agreed with Eni and Egypt to end their dispute over Unión Fenosa (UFG), in which the Spanish and Italian firms own 50% each.
28-Feb-2020
South Centre
The basis of a claim in ISDS is always the applicable international investment agreement. There would always be differences and inconsistencies with an appellate mechanism.
27-Feb-2020
DAWN
Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan has said that Pakistan’s foremost effort in the Reko Diq mining case is to secure annulment of the $5.9 billion penalty.
26-Feb-2020
Interfax
Imperial Tobacco is working on available legal instruments of protection, including an international investment arbitration tribunal, to contest a fine imposed by Ukraine for anticompetitive concerted actions.
26-Feb-2020
Street Insider
JCDecaux SA, an outdoor advertising, invited the Czech Republic to engage in discussions, as the first step in arbitration proceedings.
26-Feb-2020
EN24
For the Kingdom, Carlyle did not justify the existence of investments in Morocco. The American group invokes the Morocco-United States free trade agreement while the contracts with Samir concern entities based in the Cayman Islands.
24-Feb-2020
New Europe
Ukraine’s joint stock oil and gas company Naftogaz said the group seeks nearly $8 billion of compensation for its assets expropriated by Russia in Crimea.
21-Feb-2020
Reuters
Chinese mining consortium Ecuagoldmining has initiated a dispute with Ecuador’s government over a gold mining project that has been halted by objections from community activists.
18-Feb-2020
Ciar Global
The arbitration between the US mining company Renco Group and Peru in relation to the metallurgical deposit in La Oroya was reopened, at the request of the mining company.
18-Feb-2020
New York Times
A Dutch appeals court reinstated an international arbitration panel’s order that it should pay $50 billion compensation to shareholders in former oil company Yukos.
13-Feb-2020
Dallas Business Journal
As a long-running dispute between Exxon Mobil Corp. and the government of Canada reached a multimillion-dollar settlement, lawyers for ExxonMobil announced.
6-Feb-2020
Reuters
Brazil construction company Odebrecht SA has taken Peru to arbitration over a failed $2 billion investment in a gas pipeline.
4-Feb-2020
Reuters
The ride-hailing firm said its initial calculations suggest damages from suspending its service in Colombia will exceed $250 million.
31-Jan-2020
Geo TV
The World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes has approved Pakistan’s petition for a review in the Reko Diq case in which the country was slapped with a $6 billion fine.
31-Jan-2020
We civil society organizations and trade unions from the African continent express our concerns about the proposal presented by the European Union to establish a multilateral investment court and support further reaching reforms of ISDS.
30-Jan-2020
Business Recorder
Pakistan approved waiving off all port dues/charges amounting to Rs194,951,059 on 31-1-2020 or till the vessels leave the port accruing against Karkey.
28-Jan-2020
SOMO
CETA strengthens the legal position of North American companies in the EU and exposes European governments and taxpayers to potential claims.
27-Jan-2020
IELP
The UNCITRAL Working Group III turned squarely to designing permanent institutions: a standing appellate mechanism and a multilateral investment court (MIC).
27-Jan-2020
Deccan Herald
India inked an Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty with Brazil – the first one after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government in December 2015 approved a new template for such bilateral pacts.
27-Jan-2020
Finance Uncovered
When Vietnam signalled it would claim the tax due, oil giant ConocoPhillips issued a pre-emptive legal strike using an arbitration process under the UK-Vietnam bilateral investment treaty.
