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ICSID


Unfair, unsustainable, and under the radar
A new paper from the Democracy Center sheds an urgent public light on the system of international investment rules and arbitration tribunals that is being used by corporations to undermine citizen and government action on a range of urgent social and environmental issues.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in March.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad)
Reko Diq saga: Balochistan wins again
Amidst continuing violence plaguing Balochistan, there is now a cause of joy for the Baloch people and the government.
Why can corporate interests trump sovereign rights?
Real News Network interviews Chakravarthi Raghavan on how companies can sue countries under trade and investment agreements
Hearings to start in Uruguay anti-smoking
Uruguay faces its first hearings in the French capital this week in a lawsuit filed by US tobacco giant Philip Morris International against its anti-smoking laws, an official said on Monday.
Reko Diq: the other side
Earlier last month, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declared null and void the Reko Diq gold and copper mine agreement, the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA), with Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).
The Reko Diq Saga
The Supreme Court recently declared void and illegal a mining deal for the Reko Diq copper project signed 20 years ago between the Balochistan government and international mining companies.
ICSID: Ruling favours Venezuela and raises doubts for Costa Rica
A few days ago, ICSID published an award rendered last December 12, 2012 ruling on a claim filed by a Canadian mining company, Vanessa Ventures against Venezuela in 2004.
Supreme Court trashes Reko Diq agreement
It is wonderful that the stance of the government of Balochistan has been upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan. Decision given on 7th January, 2013 by the SC has declared the agreement on Reko Diq signed on July 23, 1993 as void and in conflict with the laws of the country. Tethyan Copper Company Pvt Limited (TCC) also lost its case in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on December 13, 2012.
Red Electrica seeks arbitration over Bolivia nationalisation
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said on Tuesday it had begun to seek World Bank arbitration over Bolivia’s expropriation of its transmission business TDE.
Investment protection clause: India can’t do a Maldives without paying a price
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.
ICSID: Ecuador Unlawfully Seized U.S. Firm’s Oil Investments
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.
Argentina faces 65bn dollars in claims; plans to abandon international litigations court
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.
Argentina: Unidad Popular thinks the country should withdraw from ICSID
During a public hearing, a member of parliament, Claudio Lozano made the request to follow in the footsteps of countries such as China, India and Brazil, all countries that have not ratified bilateral investment treaties.
Ecuador / ICSID: A new revolt likely to have regional repercussions
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).
Kazakhstan wins the arbitration proceeding versus Caratube company
On 5 June 2012 the arbitral tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) adopted the decision on the case initiated by Caratube International Oil Company LLP (CIOC) against the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Lone Star is back in town, armed with the investor-state dispute system

In a May 31 press release, the US private equity fund Lone Star said it was planning to request investor state dispute (ISD) arbitration for losses suffered due to "unlawful" interference by the South Korean government.

Churchill Mining files international arbitration against Indonesia
Churchill Mining (LON:CHL) said it has now filed for international arbitration in its dispute regarding the East Kutai coal project (EKCP) in Indonesia, 75 per cent owned by Churchill.
Argentina: Towards a possible new withdrawal from ICSID?
As long as States, like Argentina and many others, accumulate a large amount of cases against them or obtain sistematically wrong results before ICSID arbitrators — which is the rule, with a very few exceptions — it is possible that the list of ICSID withdrawals will increase in the Americas.