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.
30-Jan-2012
Livemint
The department of industrial policy and promotion has in principle decided not to include in bilateral trade pacts a clause that permits a foreign investor to sue the host country at an international dispute settlement agency.
13-Jan-2012
DTE
Since the 1990s developing nations have been on a treaty spree, signing a vast number of bilateral and regional investment treaties to attract funds for development. But as the figure of investment treaties has shot up so have the claims for damages from investor companies, which are seeking billions of dollars in compensation on account of regulatory laws.
3-Jan-2012
The Hankyoreh
The experiences of former judge Abner Mikva, an arbitrator in a NAFTA dispute, demonstrate how he was pressured to favor the interests of the American establishment
20-Dec-2011
Philip Morris Ltd
"We believe plain packaging violates the Australian Constitution because the Government is seeking to acquire our property without paying compensation," the company states
15-Dec-2011
AFL-CIO
Tomorrow, the AFL-CIO will join the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and activists from a range of labor and environmental groups to converge on the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., for a noon protest in opposition to a CAFTA case being brought against the Salvadoran government by Pacific Rim.
6-Dec-2011
Canadian company, the Loewen Group has found itself embroiled in a legal battle after investing in a U.S. funeral home project. Loewen was charged by the Mississippi state court with violating its contract.
4-Dec-2011
Judges are currently involved in a heated online and in-person debate over comments about the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement made by Incheon District Court Senior Judge Kim Ha-neul.
26-Nov-2011
Korea’s Office of the Minister for Trade recently attempted to recruit lawyers specializing in international trade before the effectuation of the free trade agreement with the European Union.
25-Nov-2011
Canberra Times
Despite the compelling rationale that the public has a stake, Philip Morris’ claims will not be heard in an Australian court by respected judges, but by an ad-hoc tribunal that will meet in Singapore or another foreign country.
22-Nov-2011
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) placed pressure on the Democratic Party on Monday to state how it would respond if a written agreement for investor-state dispute (ISD) provision renegotiations for the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) were received from the South Korean and U.S. trade officials.
21-Nov-2011
The Federal Government’s plain packaging laws for cigarettes have now passed both houses of Parliament but are facing their first legal challenge.
9-Nov-2011
The Ministry of Justice submitted a formal opinion strongly recommending caution with regard to the investor-state dispute (ISD) system, a key item of contention with the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement.
6-Nov-2011
The main opposition Democratic Party stepped up its public campaign against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement over the weekend, as the ruling Grand National Party mulled pushing a final vote at a plenary session Wednesday.
5-Nov-2011
Swedish energy giant Vattenfall will take advantage of an "extraordinarily powerful legal tool" now available to the world’s corporations to sue the German government for phasing out nuclear power, it was confirmed this week.
5-Nov-2011
The South Korean government describes the investor-state dispute system (ISD), introduced by the country for 81 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) formed since 1967, as a means of protecting offshore investments by South Koreans. But South Korea has never once sued another country, nor has the government been sued by a foreign investor. The reason was that none of those treaties was with the United States.
7-Oct-2011
Madhyam
This article tries to provide a first brief assessment of the leaked EU negotiation mandate for an investment protecting agreement in the EU free trade agreements with Canada, India and Singapore.
15-Sep-2011
S2B
On Monday 12 September the General Affairs Council approved negotiating mandates for investment
protection chapters in free trade agreements with Canada, India and Singapore.
2-Sep-2011
Bloomberg
Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. energy company, said it won a $96 million judgment against Ecuador in an international arbitration case stemming from a 1990s oil-export dispute with the Latin American nation.
25-Aug-2011
The Conversation
Legislation requiring tobacco products to be in plain packaging was passed by Australia’s House of Representatives last night. This is the first such measure in the world to become law.
12-Aug-2011
Almasry Alyoum
In violation of international agreements, natural gas has not flowed for months across the Sinai desert through the pipeline that connects Israel and Jordan to Egypt. Since former President Hosni Mubarak’s fall in February, political uncertainty and intermittent attacks have halted its delivery.
