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.

The Guardian | 29-Feb-2016
Negotiators confirm they hope to reach agreement on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership by end of year.
El Economista | 26-Feb-2016
La Unión Europea (UE) y Estados Unidos confirmaron hoy, al término de su duodécima ronda de conversaciones, su compromiso de cerrar las negociaciones para un acuerdo de libre comercio e inversiones (TTIP) para finales de 2016.
Global Post | 26-Feb-2016
EU member Poland wants to cancel its bilateral investment treaties (BITS) on the basis of which foreign investors have lodged claims worth nearly a billion euros in international arbitration.
Amigos de la Tierra | 25-Feb-2016
La demanda de la empresa TransCanada por 15.000 millones de dólares demuestra la amenaza del TTIP a la democracia y el medio ambiente
Reuters | 25-Feb-2016
Venezuela llegó a un acuerdo para buscar una solución a un prolongado conflicto por arbitraje con la minera canadiense Gold Reserve, que reclama una indemnización de 750 millones de dólares tras el abrupto fin de una concesión que mantuvo en el país sudamericano hasta 2009.
Ars Technica | 25-Feb-2016
Browser maker Mozilla, digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Creative Commons have called for more openness in global trade agreements.
Reuters | 25-Feb-2016
Venezuela and Canadian mining company Gold Reserve signed a memorandum of understanding to settle a protracted arbitration dispute over a gold concession.
ARAINFO | 24-Feb-2016
La portavoz de Izquierda Unida en el Parlamento Europeo, Marina Albiol, ha acusado a la Comisión Europea de "dejar atados de pies y manos a los Estados de la UE" con la propuesta sobre los tribunales de arbitraje que presentará a EEUU.
Ecoticias | 24-Feb-2016
La primera jornada de las debates se ha abierto con la protesta de la ONG Greenpeace, después de que una treintena de activistas de siete países, entre ellos varios españoles, se hayan encadenado a la entrada del centro de conferencias donde tiene lugar el encuentro, según ha informado la organización en un comunicado.
Lexology | 24-Feb-2016
FIPA sets out respective rights and reciprocal binding obligations for Canada and Hong Kong, including non-discriminatory treatment, minimum standard of treatment and dispute resolutions rules.