bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

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.

Amway loses $3 billion dispute after Mexico seized its 692-acre organic farm
15-Jan-2026 MLive
An international tribunal dismissed Amway’s request for $3 billion in damages after the Mexican government in 2022 seized a 692-acre organic farm owned by the multi-level marketing company and gave it to communal landowners.
Water defenders celebrate ruling against US gold company’s claim
15-Jan-2026 Institute for Policy Studies
A major victory against an exploitative corporate lawsuit in Guatemala.
Denmark’s Rockwool says Russia has seized four of its factories
14-Jan-2026 Reuters
The company added that it will defend its legal rights under the bilateral investment treaty between the countries.
Fight over Venezuelan oil highlights shadowy international legal system
14-Jan-2026 Inside Climate News
Trump said the socialist government “stole” from American oil companies. Those firms have been seeking billions in compensation through a controversial arbitration system.
Investor-state arbitration: Swiss investor files ICSID claim against Kenya
12-Jan-2026 LinkedIn
Travizory Border Security SA, a Swiss-based border security technology company, filed a treaty-based claim against the Republic of Kenya at the ICSID. The dispute relates to a border-crossing management agreement and is purportedly covered by BIT Switzerland - Kenya 2006 and ICSID Convention - Arbitration Rules.
UAE-based mining firm drags Guinea to World Bank tribunal over $28.9bn bauxite permit dispute
12-Jan-2026 Business insider Africa
Axis International Ltd has filed a $28.9 billion arbitration claim against Guinea at a World Bank tribunal after the West African country revoked its permit to operate a bauxite mine earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates-based company said.
Wingtech pursues international arbitration against Dutch state over Nexperia seizure
12-Jan-2026 Reuters
China’s Wingtech is seeking international arbitration in pursuit of up to $8 billion in damages following the Netherlands’ seizure of chipmaker Nexperia.
Statement from the Peaceful Resistance La Puya to the Guatemalan and international community in response to the decision of the international arbitration tribunal (ICSID) in KCA v. Guatemala
8-Jan-2026 Resistencia Pacífica La Puya
This is an opportune moment for Guatemala review the commitments it has made in investment treaties and decide, weighing the costs and benefits, whether or not to remain in his system.
The sound and fury of Venezuela’s ICSID denunciation
7-Jan-2026 Ulpiano
If the Venezuela experience is any indication, denouncing the ICSID Convention by itself will not provide much satisfaction.
Corporations are ready to cash in on Venezuela
7-Jan-2026 Jacobin
Before Donald Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro, corporations filed lawsuits against Venezuela seeking damages tied to state nationalization, international sanctions, and political instability. A Trump-installed government could tilt the courts in their favor.
Halliburton files ISDS suit against Venezuela for damages resulting from… US sanctions on Venezuela
7-Jan-2026 Naked Capitalism
The US oilfield services company Halliburton quietly filed a suit against Venezuela at the World Bank’s international arbitration court, ICSID.
Academic open letter on ISDS and UK climate policy
22-Dec-2025 Trade Justice Movement
A group of 56 UK-affiliated academics has written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP, warning that Investor-State Dispute Settlement poses a serious risk to the UK’s ability to take effective climate action.
ISDS tribunal publishes decision in first Clive Palmer ISDS case more than a year after hearings
17-Dec-2025 AFTINET
The tribunal in the first Clive Palmer ISDS case, which claimed $300 billion from the Australian government, has published its decision 10 weeks after it was announced by the government and more than a year after the original hearings.
NAFTA legacy case dropped
15-Dec-2025 CCPA
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes has declined jurisdiction over a NAFTA legacy claim filed under CUSMA’s legacy annex by Access Business Group (Amway) against Mexico and ordered the claimant to pay $1.3M USD.
Latest twist in Chevron’s Amazon pollution saga: Ecuador ordered to pay the oil company $220 million
12-Dec-2025 Inside Climate News
Indigenous and other Ecuadorians have lived with millions of gallons of toxic pollution from Texaco’s operations for decades. Now, those victims’ tax dollars will go to Chevron, which acquired Texaco in 2001. celebre su derrota.
OIC nations’ need for fairer investor-state dispute reforms
10-Dec-2025 The Express Tribune
UN prepares for key ISDS reforms, OIC countries strive for balance between investor protection and sovereignty.
Frozen assets, hot claims: How Russian oligarchs and other investors sue over sanctions
9-Dec-2025 European Trade Justice Coalition
Economic sanctions against Russia are now being challenged by Russian oligarchs and companies in private tribunals using a mechanism written into investment treaties.
Japanese investors sue Switzerland over Credit Suisse’s AT1 write-down, law firm says
4-Dec-2025 Reuters
The 184 investors filed an arbitration request with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, claiming Switzerland violated a free trade agreement with Japan when wiping out the bonds in March 2023.
New China-Russia bilateral investment agreement takes effect: MOFCOM
2-Dec-2025 Global Times
The new Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments formally came into effect.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
1-Dec-2025 The Guardian
The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts