Foreign investors wanting to protect their gains under the controversial new law could hold the country to ransom by threatening a dispute. As a result, they would constrain New Zealand’s democratic ability to exercise its sovereignty, and to protect te Tiriti rights.
Companies have long used international treaties to try to prevent Global South countries from asserting economic sovereignty. In recent decades, corporations have used such laws to stymie European governments’ attempts to tackle the climate crisis.
For half a century, the ISDS system has allowed multinational corporations to run off with billions of taxpayers dollars while allowing them to undermine environmental standards, public health protections, financial regulations, and other sound policies throughout the world.
A free-trade agreement between Peru and China, which has been in effect since 2009, protects investments and has allowed increased trade between the countries.
The European Parliament voted today largely in favour of the Commission’s proposal for the European Union to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, a landmark move that campaigners across Europe have been demanding for years.
Earlier this year, ICSID dismissed the claims of Gabriel Resources in the Roșia Montană case. The court also obliged the companies to pay Romania the costs of the lawsuit, as well as interest.
April 21st has been a historic day. The Ecuadorian people voted massively NO in the referendum question about whether Ecuador should return to arbitration.