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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.

Stop ISDS and support the Treaty to protect people and the planet
16-Oct-2019 CIDSE
How can you help? Sign the petition to stop ISDS!
Reko Diq challenge: government looking for out-of-court settlement
16-Oct-2019 Business Recorder
The Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and the Attorney General for Pakistan are meeting with the company’s board.
ISDS lawsuit: When corporation ignores state sovereignty
15-Oct-2019 IGJ
The book aims to provide an understanding to the public about ISDS mechanism, by providing a clear description of real impact caused by ISDS lawsuit faced by Indonesia.
UNCITRAL Working Group III: Promoting alternatives to investor–state arbitration as ISDS reform
14-Oct-2019 IISD
Several states participating in the UNCITRAL process have already adopted viable alternatives to ISDS.
Commission presents procedural proposals for the Investment Court System in CETA
14-Oct-2019 European Commission
The European Commission today presented to the Council four proposals for specific rules putting in place the Investment Court System provisions in the EU-Canada trade deal.
ISDS in numbers
8-Oct-2019 TNI
Impacts of investment arbitration against African states.
International arbitration for Banco del Orinoco
7-Oct-2019 The Daily Herald
Bank of Orinoco has initiated an international arbitration against the Netherlands over alleged discriminatory and irrational measures by the government of Curaçao.
Tidal threatens legal action against Norway over stat fiddling investigation
3-Oct-2019 CMU
Tidal is threatening legal action against the whole country of Norway, which is certainly one way to deal with allegations that you fiddled the figures on a Beyonce record.
India may cut duties on 80% of Chinese imports under RCEP
2-Oct-2019 The Economic Times
India may cut or eliminate tariffs on 80% of products imported from China under a 16-country free trade agreement, the last round of negotiations for which is underway in Vietnam.
S. Korea wins int’l arbitration against Korean-American in property dispute
1-Oct-2019 Yonhap
The South Korean government has won an international arbitration in a suit a Korean-American individual filed over expropriation of land in a redevelopment project.
ISDS victory: RCEP won’t allow corporations to sue governments
1-Oct-2019 AFTINET
After seven years of tireless campaigning in Australia and across the region, the Malaysian Trade Minister announced that foreign investor rights to sue governments (ISDS) has been dropped from the RCEP agreement negotiations.
Over $100 million paid to Karkey as penalty, claims Sherry
27-Sep-2019 Business Recorder
Pakistan has paid over $100 million to Turkish rental power company Karkey as a penalty out of $800 million, Senator Sherry Rehman has said.
Nord Stream 2 sues EU using ISDS
27-Sep-2019 Forbes
The company building the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea today sued the European Union over new gas rules it says are threatening its investments in the project.
Singapore firms in Myanmar to get better protection under new bilateral treaty
25-Sep-2019 The Straits Times
The Bilateral Investment Treaty on the Promotion and Protection of Investments between Singapore and Myanmar aims to promote greater investment flows between the two countries.
Weapons of legal destruction: ISDS lawsuits and Lydian International’s assault on Armenian sovereignty
24-Sep-2019 CADTM
The signing of an investment treaty involves a unilateral loss of sovereignty on the part of the host state, which is ultimately deemed necessary to attract foreign capital.
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT): Assessing its geopolitical, climate and financial impacts
23-Sep-2019 OpenEXP
The Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral agreement that grants binding protection for foreign investors and includes also binding provisions for free trade and freedom of transit of energy materials and products.
Suddenly, the world’s biggest trade agreement won’t allow corporations to sue governments
17-Sep-2019 The Conversation
Malaysia’s trade minister Datuk Darell Leiking revealed that Malaysia and each of the other 15 parties to the RCEP negotiations had agreed to exclude ISDS provisions from the deal.
Netherlands faces ISDS threat after decision to ban coal-based power generation by 2030
16-Sep-2019 AFTINET
German company Uniper has threatened to bring an ISDS case against the Dutch government after a decision to ban coal-based power generation by 2030.
Reko Diq, Karkey cases: Pakistan to challenge verdicts of ICSID: Omar
10-Sep-2019 Business Recorder
Pakistan government is going to challenge the verdicts of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), said Minister for Power Division.
Luxembourg leads EU push to climate-proof Energy Charter Treaty
4-Sep-2019 Euractiv
Critics say the Energy Charter provides excessive legal protection for oil and gas companies, which can claim uncapped reparations from governments who frustrate investments in fossil fuel projects.