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.

Newsday | 2-Jun-2015
A governernment official has warned Zanu PF supporters against invading commercial farms covered under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas) with foreign governments
EESC | 29-May-2015
The European Economic and Social Committee, in its opinion adopted on 27 May, opposes the inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) or in the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), as it believes such a system has the potential to derail both agreements.
Congressional Research Service | 28-May-2015
This report for US Congress answers frequently asked questions about US international investment agreements including provisions for investor-state dispute settlement.
AFP | 28-May-2015
L’accord de libre-échange, en cours de négociations entre Européens et Américains, a reçu une première marque de soutien du Parlement européen jeudi avec le feu vert de la commission en charge du commerce, ce qui a provoqué la colère des eurodéputés verts, fermement opposés à ce projet.
BBC | 28-May-2015
The resolution supported by the committee does not explicitly call for a ban on controversial investor-to-state dispute mechanisms (ISDS), instead calling for the jurisdiction of national courts to be "respected" in the deal.
El Ciudadano | 26-May-2015
A pocas semanas de que los eurodiputados decidan el destino del Tratado Transatlántico de Comercio e Inversión, el secretismo impuesto en torno al texto sigue generando inquietud entre la ciudadanía.
NO 2 ISDS! | 25-May-2015
Join this e-action on the European Parliament, asking MEPs to pledge that they will reject ISDS in TTIP. The action is going to run until the vote in the plenary on 10 June and is available in 9 languages.
Korea Herald | 25-May-2015
While the South Korean government is facing its second international arbitration under the investor-state dispute settlement system, civic groups are demanding that the details should be made public as they could cost several billion dollars of taxpayers’ money.
The Ecologist | 25-May-2015
In the rush to oppose TTIP we mustn’t lose sight of the context in which the deal is being negotiated — the hundreds of bilateral treaties that give corporations the right to sue in secret ’trade courts’.
Jakarta Post | 18-May-2015
Apart from its network of BITs, Indonesia is also a party to a number of multilateral and regional investment agreements such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement which also contain an ISDS clause, including recourse to ICSID arbitration.