bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

reformed ISDS

EU-Mexico trade talks to start June 13, 14
31-May-2016 Politico
The EU and Mexico will kick off its first negotiation round for overhauling their bilateral trade agreement, talks that will include the EU’s new Investment Court System (ICS).
India seeks fresh treaties with 47 nations
30-May-2016 The Economic Times
India has written to 47 countries to nullify the existing bilateral investment agreements and ink fresh treaties that will make it mandatory for foreign investors to exhaust local judicial remedies before seeking arbitration.
Investment-related dispute settlement: Towards an inclusive multilateral approach
29-May-2016 IISD
Results from an IISD expert meeting held in Montreux, Switzerland, May 23–24, 2016.
Why the new BIT may not work
26-May-2016 The Hindu
The new bilateral investment treaty’s gratuitous focus on local courts and taxation may not please our partners.
EU and Philippines kick off trade talks today
23-May-2016 Politico
Philippine trade negotiators meet their DG Trade counterparts for a first round of trade talks, five months after they were announced, but nobody expects a cakewalk.
ISDS in the revised CETA: positive steps, but is it a “gold standard”?
23-May-2016 CIGI
Canada and the European Union released a revised Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in February 2016. The revisions focus on the controversial and deeply flawed process of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).
The need for a Southern Observatory on transnational investment
18-May-2016 IISD
The objective of the Observatory is to become a forum for the objective settlement of investment disputes with transnational corporations.
Why developing countries are dumping investment treaties
25-Mar-2016 The Conversation
Bilateral investment treaties have been a source of political controversy in recent years. This is clear from the alarming increase in the number of disputes between investors and governments.
The gold-plated CETA: whose gold and at what cost?
17-Mar-2016 IISD
Does the agreement reflect 21st century needs and standards?
Is ISDS in EU trade agreements legal under EU law?
15-Mar-2016 IISD
The legality of investor­­–state dispute settlement (ISDS), including in the form of an Investment Court System (ICS), in EU trade agreements under EU law is a contentious issue among academics and legal experts.
A CETA investment court is not the solution
7-Mar-2016 The Globe and Mail
This is one of the problems with this regime of investor rights. It confers enormous discretion on an elite corps of lawyers.
CETA announcement shows it’s possible to fix trade deals
4-Mar-2016 Huffington Post
Corporations can still sue governments over public policy decisions they don’t like but the real lesson from the ISDS reforms, in fact, is that public opposition and political mobilization can change things.
The seven sins of the EU investment court
1-Mar-2016 EU Observer
Despite all the talk of reform from commissioner Malmstroem, the threat to democratic decision-making is as alive and dangerous as ever.
CETA: EU and Canada agree on new approach on investment in trade agreement
29-Feb-2016 European Commission
The European Commission and the Canadian Government have agreed to include a new approach on investment protection and investment dispute settlement in CETA.
Investment court system, ISDS in disguise: 10 reasons why the EU’s proposal doesn’t fix a flawed system
18-Feb-2016 Friends of the Earth Europe
The European Commission has proposed a new ’Investment Court System’ to replace the current investor to state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and other future investment deals.
Canada re-opens investment talks with India
17-Feb-2016 Embassy
Canada’s government has officially re-opened negotiations with India over a bilateral investment treaty the two sides nearly agreed upon almost a decade ago.
Conciliation and arbitration law: Times of change in investment protection in Bolivia
15-Feb-2016 IISD
Bolivia’s experience has shown that attracting foreign investment does not by itself generate the expected development for host states and that, rather, it consists in a mechanism for financing and transferring resources from the South to the North.
Negotiations kick off on a binding treaty on business and human rights
15-Feb-2016 IISD
The UNGPs set out a three-pillar framework: the state duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and access to remedy for victims of business-related abuses.
The whole BIT
11-Feb-2016 Business Today
The revised model text for bilateral investment treaties has addressed many concerns, but to avoid litigations, India must renegotiate existing treaties on the basis of the new norms.
Opinion on the establishment of an investment tribunal in TTIP
3-Feb-2016 DRB
The German Magistrates Association rejects the proposal of the European Commission to establish an investment court within the framework of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.