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.

Health Canal | 19-May-2016
“Despite the losses and defeats, tobacco companies will keep coming back for more. They will fight on regardless in order to delay and disrupt the rollout of the World Health Organization’s best-practice tobacco control measures,”
IISD | 18-May-2016
In an award issued July 28, 2015 but only published February 2016, a tribunal at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ordered Zimbabwe to return farms it seized without compensation in 2005.
IISD | 18-May-2016
The objective of the Observatory is to become a forum for the objective settlement of investment disputes with transnational corporations.
Gestión | 17-May-2016
La deuda será pagada mediante la entrega de US$ 217 millones en bonos en dólares de Argentina, Bonar 2024, que tiene una tasa de 8.75% anual, lo que significa una quita nominal en promedio de 31%, aproximadamente.
Diario Financiero | 16-May-2016
El reclamo se basa en el incumplimiento de promesas de construcción de vías exclusivas para buses.
Business Recorder | 16-May-2016
Argentina has agreed to pay $217 million to two energy companies in long-standing arbitration cases stemming from its 2001/02 economic crisis.
Lexology | 12-May-2016
In the midst of various events, which sent shockwaves through the South African economy, the Protection of Investment Act was enacted on 15 December 2015.
Slovak Spectator | 11-May-2016
Slovakia has made a step towards reversing an arbitration ruling over the ban of generating profits on private health insurers, the Finance Ministry says.
El Diario | 10-May-2016
Debido a su gran parecido, el CETA también es conocido como ’el TTIP canadiense’, el ’Acuerdo Integral de Economía y Comercio’ entre la UE y Canadá.
Macau Business Daily | 10-May-2016
Locally established company seeks damages for holding company in impending Lao casino resort sale.