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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.

Brazil has signed Investment Cooperation and Facilitation agreements with Mozambique and Angola
23-Apr-2015 Lexology
The ICFAs open a door to arbitration, providing an alternative to the local courts, but State-to-State, not investor-State.
Parliament’s opposition to TTIP arbitration on the rise
21-Apr-2015 EurActiv
Half of the European Parliament’s committees have rejected the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, casting doubt over the trade deal’s prospects of to passing through Parliament.
El Salvador, Water is more precious than gold
15-Apr-2015 ITUC
The International Trade Union Confederation calls on the government of El Salvador to denounce all treaties establishing ISDS proceedings.
Will El Salvador be forced to pay $301 million for valuing clean water over gold?
15-Apr-2015 Equal Times
The Central American state of El Salvador could be forced to pay US$301 million in damages to an Australian-Canadian mining company, OceanaGold, after the company’s application for a mining license was rejected on the basis of the projected environmental damage it would cause.
High time for a global investment agreement
15-Apr-2015 South China Morning Post
In terms of international transactions, FDI is more important than trade but it is subject to global policy disarray.
Lobby group EFILA’s stake in investment arbitration
14-Apr-2015 TNI
In response to growing public criticism of international investment law, a new lobby group has emerged, EFILA, seeking to influence European officials.
Disputes between States and multinationals - The paradigm: The dispute between Suez and Argentina
14-Apr-2015 Observatoire des Multinationales
An international arbitral tribunal has just ordered Argentina to pay nearly 400 million Euro to Suez because in 2006, after years of conflict, Argentina renationalized the water services in Buenos Aires.
Don’t sign agreements that erode workers’ rights
10-Apr-2015 Malaysia Kini
The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is most concerned about the serious implications of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses and provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and other such agreements and treaties that Malaysia signs.
AFL-CIO and Canadian Labour Congress joint statement on promoting trade deals that work for people over profits
10-Apr-2015 AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) call for an end to ISDS in all pending trade and investment agreements.
Resistance and change in the international law on foreign investment
10-Apr-2015 Cambridge University Press
The treaty-based system of investment protection has become tenuous, and change has become inevitable. Emphasising the changes resulting from resistance to a system based on neoliberal foundations, this study looks at recent developments in the area.
Chevron’s secret videos show company technicians finding and mocking extensive oil contamination in Ecuador rainforest
9-Apr-2015 Amazon Watch
An apparent Chevron whistleblower has sent Amazon Watch dozens of internal company videos showing Chevron employees and consultants manipulating evidence linked to the oil giant’s extensive contamination - and legal dispute - in Ecuador.
Draft bilateral investment pact keeps tax disputes, contracts out of arbitration
3-Apr-2015 Indian Express
The finance ministry has drafted a fresh bilateral investment protection treaty that would keep taxation measures and issuance of compulsory licences for intellectual property rights out of the sphere of arbitration while preventing foreign investors to drag India to arbitration for any dispute that has already been settled by the courts.
Leaked investment chapter of the TPP: broad similarities to the US Model BIT, a nod to the ongoing debate and some outstanding issues
2-Apr-2015 Lexology
The leaked investment chapter of the TPP looks very similar to the 2012 US Model BIT, with a few notable additions and changes to the text.
International investment law and the [human right to] land
1-Apr-2015 HIC-HLRN
In many cases, international investment agreements have the purpose and/or effect of hijacking the international human rights system.
Company vs country
31-Mar-2015 BBC
Resistance is mounting against the booming and lucrative business of multinational companies suing governments.
India: Govt, legal experts differ on Cairn compensation demand
30-Mar-2015 Business Standard
Cairn Energy Plc’s demand for compensation from India for the Rs 10,200 crore tax notice slapped on Cairn India earlier this month under the ambit of the India-UK Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) has divided those in the government and those outside it.
CBDT on Cairn: Tax matters not covered under UK-India BIT
30-Mar-2015 CNBC
According to sources ay India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes, tax matters are not covered under UK-India bilateral Investment treaty (BIT).
17 April 2015: International Day of Peasant and Farmer Struggle against Transnational Companies and Free Trade Agreements
30-Mar-2015 La Via Campesina
This April 17th 2015, La Via Campesina will focus its mobilizations on the impacts of Transnational Corporations and Free Trade Agreements on peasant and small-scale agriculture and national food sovereignty
NZ-Korea FTA Select Committee provides Kiwis chance to break silence on ISDS
30-Mar-2015 Scoop
The Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade committee is now accepting public submissions on the NZ-Korea Free Trade Agreement, providing Kiwis with a rare chance to break the silence on the controversial investor-state dispute settlement provisions in that agreement and in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, according to It’s Our Future NZ.
ANALYSIS: India invites comments on draft model investment treaty; text offers radical departure, and calls to mind Norway’s past efforts at revision
30-Mar-2015 Investment Arbitration Reporter
One of the most striking features of the draft model is its jettisoning of the fair and equitable treatment standard in favor of a standard — egregious or outrageous behaviour — that hearkens back to legal touchstones of an earlier era.