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.
3-Jan-2013
Business Reporter
After 3 years and 8 months, Zimbabwe has admitted financial liability on illegal farm invasions and forthwith issued a statement that they are ceasing all farm invasions on properties protected by bilateral investment treaties.
24-Dec-2012
Recent disputes, including the GMR-Maldives government row and the clash between foreign telecom firms Telenor, Sistema, Etisalat and Vodafone and the Indian government, have exposed India’s vulnerable position in investment agreements. While the foreign telecom companies can use a potent weapon - the ’investment protection’ clause in bilateral treaties - against India, GMR cannot do the same with Maldives.
23-Dec-2012
The World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes has handed down a ruling against the Ecuadorian government, finding that it “unlawfully expropriated” U.S. firm Burlington Resources’ investments in two oil blocks.
8-Dec-2012
AJE
Al Jazeera ask if the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations have rendered democratic decision-making irrelevant.
6-Dec-2012
South Centre
Developing countries that have signed BITs should start a process of review and eventual renegotiation or denunciation, writes Carlos Correa
6-Dec-2012
IDN
While multinational corporations such as Philip Morris dispose of the financial means to pay for elite law advice, developing countries don’t.
3-Dec-2012
Infojustice.org
Australia’s new stance against investor-State arbitration may do nothing to prevent claims being brought in the future.
29-Nov-2012
Argentina faces 42 claims at the World Bank’s ICSID in which the plaintiffs are demanding compensations for almost 65 billion dollars, revealed Eduardo Barcesat legal advisor to the Argentine Treasury and one of several lawyers who has defended the country in those litigations.
26-Nov-2012
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources (MoPNR) has written a letter to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to persuade the Balochistan government to settle the Reko Diq issue out of court, fearing a penalty of Rs39 billion by the International Centre for Settlement Investment Disputes (ICSID).
16-Nov-2012
A US-incorporated energy firm, Lone Pine Resources Inc., is taking on Quebec’s stand against fracking, saying it violates the North American free-trade agreement and demanding more than $250-million in compensation.
15-Nov-2012
Reuters
US agribusiness company Cargill Inc. filed a suit in a US court on Tuesday to compel Mexico to pay a $94.6 million award over trade barriers the company says Mexico put up against high-fructose corn syrup from 2002 to 2007.
15-Nov-2012
Troy Media
Much of the debate surrounding the Canada-China trade deal revolves around the dispute settlement clause in the deal. Troy Media contacted Professor Thomas Faunce of the Australian National University in Canberra to explain why the Australian government decided to discontinue the practise of seeking inclusion of investor state dispute settlement provisions in trade agreements with developing countries.
24-Oct-2012
Mining Weekly
TSX-listed South American Silver (SAS) on Tuesday said it had notified the Plurinational State of Bolivia of an investment dispute between the company and Bolivia, after the company’s subsidiaries had lost its mineral tenements.
11-Oct-2012
Dow Jones
Ecuador has officially requested the annulment of an international court ruling that ordered it to pay $1.77 billion, plus pre- and post-award interest, to Occidental Petroleum Corp.
9-Oct-2012
Dow Jones
Ecuador’s Attorney General said Monday his office is preparing the legal basis to contest an international court ruling that ordered the country to pay $1.77 billion plus interest to Occidental Petroleum Corp.
7-Oct-2012
Ecuador officially announced on 8 October 2012 that it will request the annulment of the recent decision of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) which was communicated on 5 October 2012 (ICSID Decision ARB/06/11).
11-Sep-2012
Delegates attending trans-Pacific free-trade negotiations in the United States are being warned their countries could end up like Australia if they agree to allow corporations to sue governments in international courts.
22-Aug-2012
Venezuela turned out to be the country with the highest number of complaints filed against it at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Icsid) of the World Bank, after four new complaints lodged in the days prior to its effective pullout of the body.
26-Jul-2012
Economic Times
Malaysia headquartered Axiata Group, which holds about 20% stake in Idea Cellular has threatened claim damages and drag the Indian government to international arbitration under bilateral investment protection pacts (BIPA), making it the sixth international investor in the telecoms space to serve notice under bilateral trade agreements.
10-Jul-2012
UNCTAD
UNCTAD’s flagship publication, World Investment Report 2012: Towards a New Generation of Investment Policies, was launched on 5 July in Geneva by Dr. James Zhan, Director of the Investment and Enterprise Division, as well as by staff and collaborators worldwide.
