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.

| 28-Oct-2015
Catherine Beard claims there is no problem with the ability of corporations to sue the New Zealand government in offshore tribunals for loss of profits under the TPPA. She bases this on "commissioned research" from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER).
Edge | 28-Oct-2015
Why FIPA makes the territorial government’s hot pursuit of trade with this superpower toxic for the North.
Client Earth | 28-Oct-2015
We have severe doubts that ISDS is compatible with EU law, as we show in our new study.
OHCHR | 28-Oct-2015
Trade must be made to work for human rights and development and not against them,” the United Nations Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, has said
The Jakarta Post | 27-Oct-2015
The essential purpose of investment treaties is to promote and protect foreign investment. This view is likely to be the reasoning of Indonesia when making bilateral investment treaties.
Market Wired | 27-Oct-2015
Edgewater and Corcoesto intend to exercise all available remedies to protect the rights and the interests of their shareholders, including international arbitration.
Público | 26-Oct-2015
La Xunta retiró a la multinacional Edgewater los derechos sobre la explotación gallega por falta de solvencia. La empresa amenaza con recurrir a un tribunal de arbitraje.
East Anglia Daily Times | 26-Oct-2015
Parts of a controversial new trade deal being negotiated between the European Union and the United States are illegal, it has been claimed.
Amigos de la Tierra | 23-Oct-2015
La empresa canadiense Edgewater quiere demandar a España por rechazar el proyecto de una mina de oro a cielo abierto en Cabana de Bergantiños, Galicia. Amigos de la Tierra denuncia que la indemnización solicitada podría ser millonaria.
The Japan News | 23-Oct-2015
The Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact limits the period for foreign companies to file damages lawsuits against host states over sudden regulatory changes to 3½ years