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.

EurActiv | 15-Jan-2015
The two countries are discussing throwing their combined weight behind a common position to exclude an Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism from trade talks with the US
Toronto Star | 14-Jan-2015
Study charts foreign corporations’ growing use of NAFTA’s investor protections to sue governments over environmental and economic regulations
Stop TTIP and TTIP Unfairhandelbar | 14-Jan-2015
An overwhelming majority of Europeans has spoken out against ISDS in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Le Monde | 13-Jan-2015
The consultation on investor arbitration that the European Commission launched in Spring 2014 delivered an unambiguous verdict: today, public opinion does not want it.
Le Monde | 13-Jan-2015
La consultation lancée par la Commission européenne au printemps 2014 sur les arbitrages d’investissement, et dont elle n’a rendu les conclusions que mardi 13 janvier, a livré un résultat sans nuances : l’opinion publique, aujourd’hui, n’en veut pas.
EU Commission | 13-Jan-2015
Today, the European Commission published its analysis of the almost 150,000 replies to its online consultation on investment protection and investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
EurActiv | 13-Jan-2015
La commission du commerce international du Parlement européen s’oppose clairement au mécanisme de règlement des différends entre investisseurs et États, une clause intégrée au TTIP.
Público | 9-Jan-2015
El Acuerdo Transatlántico de Comercio e Inversiones es un proyecto que va más allá del comercio. Es un proyecto geopolítico, ideológico y social que supera el ámbito de la economía. El TTIP y su complemento, el ISDS, son un ataque directo a la democracia actual y futura...
European Commission | 7-Jan-2015
As published by the European Commission
Aporrea | 29-Dec-2014
Entrevista a Michael Efler: portavoz de la Iniciativa Ciudadana Europea contra el tratado entre la UE y EEUU