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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.

17 April 2015: International Day of Peasant and Farmer Struggle against Transnational Companies and Free Trade Agreements
La Via Campesina | 30-Mar-2015
This April 17th 2015, La Via Campesina will focus its mobilizations on the impacts of Transnational Corporations and Free Trade Agreements on peasant and small-scale agriculture and national food sovereignty
keywords: actions | resistance , agriculture | farmers | food , investor-state disputes | ISDS
NZ-Korea FTA Select Committee provides Kiwis chance to break silence on ISDS
Scoop | 30-Mar-2015
The Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade committee is now accepting public submissions on the NZ-Korea Free Trade Agreement, providing Kiwis with a rare chance to break the silence on the controversial investor-state dispute settlement provisions in that agreement and in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, according to It’s Our Future NZ.
keywords: actions | resistance , CPTPP , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , New Zealand
ANALYSIS: India invites comments on draft model investment treaty; text offers radical departure, and calls to mind Norway’s past efforts at revision
Investment Arbitration Reporter | 30-Mar-2015
One of the most striking features of the draft model is its jettisoning of the fair and equitable treatment standard in favor of a standard — egregious or outrageous behaviour — that hearkens back to legal touchstones of an earlier era.
keywords: India , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , UNCITRAL
Chevron’s "fight it out on the ice" strategy for Ecuador case is slipping, fast
Huffington Post | 28-Mar-2015
In Chevron’s massive international arbitration directly against the government of Ecuador, it has gotten everything it has asked for from the panel of arbitrators — until last week.
keywords: actions | resistance , corporate interests , Ecuador , energy , environment , indigenous peoples , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
Leaked Pacific trade pact draft shows investment carve-outs sought
Reuters | 27-Mar-2015
Australia’s medicine subsidies, Canadian films and culture, and capital controls in Chile would be carved out from investment protection rules being negotiated in a Pacific trade pact, according to a draft text released by Wikileaks on Wednesday.
keywords: Australia , Canada , Chile , CPTPP , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Malaysia
Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) - Investment Chapter
WikiLeaks | 26-Mar-2015
WikiLeaks annonces its release of the "Investment Chapter" from the secret negotiations of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement.
keywords: CPTPP , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , leaks , WikiLeaks
Cairn Energy seeks compensation from India on tax demand; Cairn India stock gains
Economic Times | 25-Mar-2015
Cairn Plc is seeking compensation from the government of India for the steep fall in the value of its shares in Vedanta-controlled Cairn India, which it is not allowed to sell until it settles a controversial retrospective tax demand of $1.60 billion, under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.
keywords: energy , India , investor-state disputes | ISDS , UK
NAFTA ruling in Nova Scotia quarry case sparks fears for future settlements
Globe & Mail | 25-Mar-2015
A NAFTA arbitration panel has ruled against Canada in a claim by a US company that wanted to develop a quarry in Nova Scotia, although a dissenting member of the panel warned that the decision will be seen as a “remarkable step backwards” in environmental protection.
keywords: Atlantica , Canada , investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA
UK: MPs denounce government TTIP plans amid fears for NHS and public services
The Guardian | 25-Mar-2015
A future government must be allowed to expand the NHS without facing legal challenge under a proposed new EU-US trade deal, according to a sharply critical report from an all-party committee of MPs.
keywords: investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP , UK
"Investor-State Dispute Settlement promotes American values"
Washington International Trade Association | 25-Mar-2015
Former US judge, arbitrator and president of the International Court of Justice says the ISDS system, currently under attack, reflects US law and enforces US leadership and therefore should be preserved.
keywords: investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS