Asia

Asian countries have signed almost 2000 international investment agreements, most of which include the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism that gives foreign investors the right to bypass national courts and resort to a parallel system of justice specifically made for them.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations or ASEAN (formed of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) also provides investor protection under the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement which was adopted in 2009.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP or TPP for short) includes ISDS provisions with a carve-out for tobacco control measures.
TPP was signed on 7 March 2018 between 11 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It went into force on 30 December 2018 among the members who have ratified it. The US withdrew from it in January 2017.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed mega regional trade deal. It is currently being negotiated between the Asian states of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam with Australia and New Zealand. India pulled out of RCEP in December 2019.

RCEP originally included ISDS, but following opposition from civil society groups and some governments, negotiators agreed to exclude it in September 2019. However the negotiating states said they will look into it again at a later stage and assess whether or not to include it.

India has been the most targeted country in the region, with 25 known disputes - the majority of which were initiated by West European countries. Turkey has been the most frequent home state for investors, with 35 cases.

In July 2019, Pakistan was ordered to pay over US$5 billion to Chilean and Canadian investors (Antofagasta and Barrick) which had brought an ISDS claim against the country using the Australia-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty. The case involved a gold and copper mine, for which an exploration permit had been denied. The mining companies had only invested about US$200 million.

Several governments in the region have said they would reform the mechanism. At the end of 2014, Sri Lanka announced its intention to move away from traditional models of BIT. It cited the thin relationship between BITs and foreign direct investment, past ISDS disputes and the tendency for BITs to constrain domestic policy space as reasons. Sri Lanka favours the enactment of appropriate domestic legislation to protect foreign investment.

In early 2014, Indonesia announced that it would terminate 67 of its BITs. Former president Yudhoyono argued that he did not want multinational companies to pressure developing countries. 21 BITs were terminated in 2015. Indonesia has drafted a new model of BIT, but it hasn’t been adopted yet.

In December 2015, India released a revised model BIT which, for instance, requires investors to exhaust domestic remedies (Indian courts) before turning to international arbitration and leaves out “fair and equitable treatment” provisions. Consequently India sent notices to 58 countries terminating or not renewing BITs that had expired. In January 2020, it signed a BIT with Brazil that excludes ISDS and favours dispute prevention as well as state-to-state dispute settlement.

(April 2020)

Globe and Mail | 2-Dec-2014
The fate of Canada’s landmark trade agreement with the European Union, known as CETA, may hinge on an obscure case due to come before the European Court of Justice that relates to a similar deal the EU recently struck with Singapore.
Business Korea | 26-Nov-2014
The two sides discussed the adoption of appeal instead of a single trial in the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) but failed to reach an agreement.
Myanmar Times | 25-Nov-2014
Burma is in the process of formulating an investment law which would give investors full compensation if government regulations impact their profits
Allens | 21-Nov-2014
The Investment Chapter of the ChAFTA may be similar to the KAFTA’s with broad carve outs limiting the scope of claims that a foreign investor may bring against the host country and providing the parties with a discretion to regulate on ’public welfare’ objectives
SMH | 18-Nov-2014
The deal struck between China and Australia on Monday will contain an Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism that will allow Chinese corporations to challenge the Australian government for "pretty much anything", say academics
Guam PDN | 17-Nov-2014
The Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens workers’ rights in the 12 nations negotiating the deal, say Communications Workers of America
TNI | 13-Nov-2014
The case of Newmont Mining vs Indonesia is a powerful example of how investment agreements, particularly Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), are used by companies to get exemptions from government regulations and legislation, undermining democracy and development.
The Nation | 12-Nov-2014
If a “high-standard” ISDS is included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the results could be catastrophic, especially for the environment and people fighting to protect the environment.
TNI | 7-Nov-2014
In an open letter Japanese & European groups call for transparency in the EU-Japan trade talks and removing the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS) from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
The Nation | 4-Nov-2014
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has said Thailand is in urgent need of an arbitration law to facilitate settlements between Thai and foreign companies, so as to increase foreign investor confidence and prepare upcoming Asean Economic Community (AEC) next year.