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 | 24-Apr-2015
Shrouded with secrecy and posing a threat to public services, Owen Tudor tells EurActiv why the UK Trade Union Congress doesn’t believe the hype over TTIP, and why exploitation, rather than immigration, should be the cause of people’s concerns.
Reuters | 24-Apr-2015
Secret negotiations on international trade deals threaten human rights, an independent United Nations expert said on Thursday in comments that appeared aimed at agreements the United States is seeking with the European Union and Pacific nations.
PINA | 23-Apr-2015
This is the leaked draft chapter on Investment text from the PACER Plus Intersessional meeting in Auckland, 26-28 November 2013.
Notas | 23-Apr-2015
Miles de personas salieron este sábado a las calles de las principales ciudades de Europa en rechazo al Tratado Transatlántico de Comercio e Inversión (TTIP, en sus siglas en inglés) entre la Unión Europea y EEUU, el cual consideran que amenaza los derechos sociales y laborales, los estándares medioambientales y la seguridad alimenticia.
Lexology | 23-Apr-2015
The ICFAs open a door to arbitration, providing an alternative to the local courts, but State-to-State, not investor-State.
EurActiv | 21-Apr-2015
La moitié des commissions du Parlement européen ont repoussé le dispositif de règlement des différends du traité, laissant augurer d’une majorité incertaine.
EurActiv | 21-Apr-2015
Half of the European Parliament’s committees have rejected the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, casting doubt over the trade deal’s prospects of to passing through Parliament.
ITUC | 15-Apr-2015
The International Trade Union Confederation calls on the government of El Salvador to denounce all treaties establishing ISDS proceedings.
Equal Times | 15-Apr-2015
The Central American state of El Salvador could be forced to pay US$301 million in damages to an Australian-Canadian mining company, OceanaGold, after the company’s application for a mining license was rejected on the basis of the projected environmental damage it would cause.
South China Morning Post | 15-Apr-2015
In terms of international transactions, FDI is more important than trade but it is subject to global policy disarray.