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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.

XL pipeline absurd $15 billion NAFTA ISDS claim
Public Citizen | 7-Aug-2021
TC Energy expects to get 15 times more money, coming from taxpayers’ pockets, than the asset losses it experienced from the revocation of a permit, that was already denied twice.
keywords: audio , Canada , climate , energy , from the movements , investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA , US
How ‘blood mineral’ traders in Rwanda are helping fund Congo rebels – and undermining global supply chains
The Globe and Mail | 6-Aug-2021
New evidence from a UN report and a high-profile investor arbitration case is casting a spotlight on Rwanda’s role in sophisticated smuggling networks that extract gold and coltan from Congolese conflict zones and funnel the strategically important minerals illicitly into global supply chains.
keywords: China , Congo, Dem Rep of , ICSID , investor-state disputes | ISDS , militarism | terrorism | security , mining , Rwanda , US
Impôts: l’Inde veut mettre fin à une bataille juridique avec les multinationales
Le Figaro | 6-Aug-2021
Le gouvernement indien a publié une proposition de loi fiscale visant à mettre fin à une bataille judiciaire de plusieurs milliards de dollars l’opposant à des compagnies étrangères.
keywords: finance | banking | taxes , India , investor-state disputes | ISDS
India to scrap retrospective tax law in olive branch to global firms
Reuters | 6-Aug-2021
India proposed scrapping a controversial law that taxed companies retrospectively, a move that could potentially settle its multi-billion-dollar tax cases with Cairn Energy and Vodafone.
keywords: finance | banking | taxes , India , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Corporate update – UNESCO inscription of Roşia Montană
Gabriel Resources | 5-Aug-2021
The UNESCO application and inscription are fundamentally at odds with Romania’s obligations under its investment treaties in relation to Gabriel’s gold and silver project.
keywords: corporate interests , environment , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , Romania
Pakistan to terminate 23 bilateral investment treaties
The Express Tribune | 5-Aug-2021
Decision aimed at avoiding international arbitration with foreign firms .
keywords: investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan
Vicat takes dispute with Egyptian state to international arbitration
Global Cement | 4-Aug-2021
France-based Vicat raised a case against the Egyptian government with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in late June 2021. It concerns its cement production business.
keywords: Egypt , France , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Experts seek AfCFTA dispute resolution mechanism for non-state parties
The Guardian | 3-Aug-2021
Ahead of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) implementation in Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and other stakeholders are seeking dispute resolution mechanisms that will address concerns of non-state entities.
keywords: AfCFTA , corporate interests , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Nigeria
Corporate courts vs the environment
Al Jazeera | 3-Aug-2021
Corporate courts were invented to protect the West’s control of the world against decolonisation. They are now undermining attempts to halt climate change.
keywords: climate , environment , from the movements , investor-state disputes | ISDS
LiTak-Tak plans to bring EUR 140 mln arbitration claim against Lithuania
Delfi | 2-Aug-2021
The Ukrainian owners of Lithuania’s air defense systems developer and producer LiTak-Tak has submitted a claim to the Lithuanian government, saying they will turn to international arbitration if no deal is reached within six months.
keywords: investor-state disputes | ISDS , Lithuania , militarism | terrorism | security , Ukraine