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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.

Investment accords - conceptual & procedural contentions
23-Sep-2015 SUNS
Particular issues and procedures in investment treaties have proved especially contentious at both conceptual and practical levels.
International trade, investment accords, increasing controversies
23-Sep-2015 SUNS
Two recent proposals on settling investment disputes have begun to attract attention and consideration in national and international circles.
ANALYSIS: does the Commission’s new proposal mark the end of ISDS?
23-Sep-2015 TTIP2015 Blog
Examining the key points under the new ‘International Court System’ in TTIP
Paris Climate Summit: New report protects climate legislation from trade deals
22-Sep-2015 The Council of Canadians
A new report formulates an innovative trade deal exemption clause that allows countries to pursue environmental and climate change policy free from the chilling effects resulting from investor-state dispute settlement provisions in trade agreements.
EU commission ISDS proposal a threat to democracy and civil rights
22-Sep-2015 FFII
The European Commission has published its investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform proposal for the EU-US trade agreement under negotiation (TTIP), which institutionalises discrimination.
MOVIE: System change not climate change
18-Sep-2015 Norges Sosiale Forum NSF
The greatest challenges of our time is to end the unjust distribution in the world and to fight climate change.
What does the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal mean for your family?
18-Sep-2015 GetUp!
Under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), multinational corporations will be able to sue the Australian Government in secret corporate courts over laws that protect our health, environment and workers’ rights.
Les Canadiens ont certaines réticences au sujet du libre-échange avec l’Europe
18-Sep-2015 Le Devoir
Le mécanisme de règlement des différends indispose une majorité de citoyens
‘Lipstick on a pig’: EC’s proposed corporate court system slammed by campaigners
17-Sep-2015 RT
Visant à rendre l’ISDS acceptable, les modifications de forme proposées menacent d’étendre considérablement le champ de cette justice aux services des multinationales
Positive effects of TTIP tribunals for investment unclear
16-Sep-2015 Euractiv
According to EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, "no direct relationship" can be seen between the controversial arbitration tribunals in the draft EU-US trade agreement and increased investment, adding fuel to its critics’ fires.
Cairn Energy set to go to ICJ against India
15-Sep-2015 Financial Express
Cairn Energy is set to approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asking it to appoint an arbitrator on behalf of the Indian government in its $1.6 bn...
Gov’t accuses Marsans group of ’selling’ ICSID lawsuit to vulture fund
15-Sep-2015 Buenos Aires Herald
Litigation finance treats litigation claims as financeable assets, just like real estate or receivables
Update on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement – NGO briefing
14-Sep-2015 AFTINET
While RCEP was initially framed as an agreement that would be more flexible for low and middle income countries, there is evidence that some governments from industrialised countries are seeking to pursue aspects which would be very damaging for developing countries.
Resisting the ‘law of greed’
11-Sep-2015 Green Agenda
There has been an explosive increase of cases of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Modern investor-state disputes often revolve around public policy measures and implicate sensitive issues such as health and environmental protection
HR standard and investor liability in the new model of Indonesian BITs
9-Sep-2015 Indonesia for Global Justice
The Government plan to reassess the 64 Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) that have been signed by Indonesia immediately.
Commission won’t ask EU judges to decide on legality of ISDS
8-Sep-2015 Euractiv
The European Commission will not ask EU judges to decide on the legality of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in free trade agreements.
Venezuela loses US refinery as ConocoPhillips ICC award enforced in US court
8-Sep-2015 Latin American Herald Tribune
A U.S. Federal Court has upheld U.S. enforcement of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration agreeing that U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips has the right to take Venezuela state oil company PDVSA’s 50% stake.
BIT template given final touches by BoI
7-Sep-2015 Business Recorder
The Board of Investment (BoI) has given final touches to a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) template, which will replace the existing treaties with different countries. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation would be made compulsory.
European Commission admits defeat in trying to improve corporate sovereignty chapter in CETA
4-Sep-2015 Tech Dirt
The excitement over the mad dash to finish TPP — and the failure to do so — has rather obscured the other so-called trade deals currently being negotiated, such as TAFTA/TTIP and the one between the EU and Canada, CETA.
For the love of water: El Salvador’s mining ban
3-Sep-2015 Counter Punch
Over 90 percent of El Salvador’s surface water is contaminated with industrial chemicals, making it unsuitable to drink even if the water is boiled, chlorinated or filtered beforehand. A new action plan for passing a nationwide ban has begun to unfold, as Salvadorans await the outcome of the Pacific Rime ICSID case.