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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.

US-backed housing scandals threaten to rip off Honduras and Panama
26-Nov-2025 Foreign Policy In Focus
Miami-based investors are suing Honduras after their own false promises left families picking up the pieces.
ISDS overview: how corporate courts threaten climate action and democracy
26-Nov-2025 Trade Justice Movement
The resource contains visual summaries to help break down the controversial Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism built into many trade and investment agreements.
ISDS exposed as a barrier to climate action and Australia to chair but not host 2026 climate negotiations
26-Nov-2025 AFTINET
As the UN climate conference began in Belem, Brazil last week, an official UN report explicitly called out Investor-State Dispute Settlement in trade agreements as a systemic barrier to financing climate action in developing countries.
COP30 shows why dismantling ISDS is essential for real climate action
26-Nov-2025 Both Ends
COP30 showed once again that climate policy cannot succeed while outdated investment treaties give corporations the power to punish ambition.
Korea asks Lone Star to reimburse legal costs after winning annulment in investor dispute
25-Nov-2025 The Korea Times
The justice ministry has sent a letter to Lone Star requesting the private equity fund to reimburse legal costs incurred during an investor-state dispute settlement over the 2012 sale of a local bank.
Between national engine and corporate plunder: the drift of Argentina´s Fiscal Oilfields YPF
24-Nov-2025 ISDS impacts
The YPF case exposes the inconsistencies of the international investment protection system, which enables large corporations to engage in predatory practices, creating severe macroeconomic problems for Argentina.
NGOs call on Government to leave Energy Charter Treaty as new claim emerges
21-Nov-2025 Leah Sullivan
Civil society groups are calling on the Government to leave the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and reject ISDS, as a new threat emerges over the government’s refusal to grant an exploration licence to an oil and gas company.
Lone Star rejects ICSID annulment, eyes new arbitration
21-Nov-2025 The Korea Times
Lone Star said it does not accept this week’s annulment ruling by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, signaling that it could pursue a new round of arbitration against the Korean government.
Luxembourg eco-investors helped sink condemned energy treaty
21-Nov-2025 Luxembourg Times
Funds used fossil-fuel friendly tool to fight back when countries pulled renewable energy incentives, hurting their green investments.
Argentina in the maze of international arbitration: a record number of arbitration claims and new concessions for investors
20-Nov-2025 ISDS impacts
For over 20 years, Argentina had the world’s highest number of investor claims before international arbitration tribunals. It also has the highest number of bilateral investment treaties in force in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Aris Mining ends Colombia arbitration with settlement
20-Nov-2025 Mining Weekly
Gold miner Aris Mining has reached a settlement with Colombia to terminate a long-running investor–state arbitration case, marking the first agreement of its kind in the country and ending a dispute dating back to 2018.
UK being sued by billionaire Russian oligarch in ‘secret corporate court’
20-Nov-2025 Global Justice Now
The UK government is being sued by a billionaire Russian oligarch in a secret corporate court, it has been revealed.
Colombia slams international trade rules that punish states for climate action
20-Nov-2025 Mongabay
Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres has called for reform of international arbitration tribunals, saying they’re “one of the greatest obstacles” to the energy transition and favor corporate interests over sovereignty.
S. Korea wins annulment in investor dispute over Lone Star’s sale of local bank
19-Nov-2025 Yonhap
An international arbitration body for investor–state dispute settlement has ruled in favor of South Korea in its challenge to the award for private equity fund Lone Star over its 2012 sale of a local bank.
EU Commission pledges to protect Belgium over Russian assets
18-Nov-2025 Politico
Belgium fears that using the assets would leave it exposed to Russian legal action. This is a major concern for Belgium, which has a bilateral investment treaty with Russia, first signed in 1989.
‘COP30 must declare an end to ISDS’, delegates told
18-Nov-2025 Global Justice Now
Campaigners launched a new initiative to phase out ‘corporate courts’ which are now a “major impediment to climate action.”
K-Electric: Govt facing arbitration threat from Saudi, Kuwaiti investors
17-Nov-2025 Business Recorder
The Government of Pakistan is facing a potential threat of arbitration from Saudi and Kuwaiti investors, key shareholders in K-Electric, who have already served a USD2 billion notice on Islamabad.
Tribunal members named in €14bn Fridman claim against Luxembourg
17-Nov-2025 The Luxembourg Times
No hearing date or location set in Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman’s arbitration case over assets frozen by the Grand Duchy’s government.
The curious case of S Alam and our investment treaty regime
14-Nov-2025 The Daily Star
The S Alam arbitration should therefore be seen not simply as a legal challenge but as a policy signal.
The constitutional shield: how Colombia’s judiciary shapes investment treaties through joint interpretation
12-Nov-2025 South Centre
This policy brief examines an innovative judicial approach by the Colombian Constitutional Court in response to an increase in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims.