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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.

India loses arbitration case against Oz firm
| 9-Feb-2012
In a stinging indictment of the slow speed with which the higher judiciary decides cases and lackadaisical manner in which the government deals with disputes involving foreign companies doing business in India, a three-member international arbitration panel has decided a case against the Government of India and a PSU.
keywords: Australia , India , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Facing devastating setbacks, Chevron now seeks taxpayer bailout from $18 billion Ecuador judgment
Amazon Defense Coalition | 1-Feb-2012
On February 11, Chevron will ask a panel of three private lawyers named as "arbitrators" under the BIT to nullify the entire nine-year Ecuadorian court process that recently found the company liable for $18 billion in clean-up costs.
keywords: Ecuador , environment , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
India may exclude clause on lawsuits from trade pacts
Livemint | 30-Jan-2012
The department of industrial policy and promotion has in principle decided not to include in bilateral trade pacts a clause that permits a foreign investor to sue the host country at an international dispute settlement agency.
keywords: India , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Investment terror
DTE | 13-Jan-2012
Since the 1990s developing nations have been on a treaty spree, signing a vast number of bilateral and regional investment treaties to attract funds for development. But as the figure of investment treaties has shot up so have the claims for damages from investor companies, which are seeking billions of dollars in compensation on account of regulatory laws.
keywords: ECT , India , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS
Unearthed documents illustrate pitfalls of ISD clause
The Hankyoreh | 3-Jan-2012
The experiences of former judge Abner Mikva, an arbitrator in a NAFTA dispute, demonstrate how he was pressured to favor the interests of the American establishment
keywords: investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , US
Philip Morris Limited files high court challenge against the Australian government over plain packaging
Philip Morris Ltd | 20-Dec-2011
"We believe plain packaging violates the Australian Constitution because the Government is seeking to acquire our property without paying compensation," the company states
keywords: Australia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
Labor, environmental activists to protest World Bank’s CAFTA tribunal
AFL-CIO | 15-Dec-2011
Tomorrow, the AFL-CIO will join the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and activists from a range of labor and environmental groups to converge on the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., for a noon protest in opposition to a CAFTA case being brought against the Salvadoran government by Pacific Rim.
keywords: actions | resistance , CAFTA , Canada , El Salvador , investor-state disputes | ISDS , US
US Congress and courts well aware of ISD’s danger
| 6-Dec-2011
Canadian company, the Loewen Group has found itself embroiled in a legal battle after investing in a U.S. funeral home project. Loewen was charged by the Mississippi state court with violating its contract.
keywords: investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , US
Judges debate KORUS FTA task force
| 4-Dec-2011
Judges are currently involved in a heated online and in-person debate over comments about the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement made by Incheon District Court Senior Judge Kim Ha-neul.
keywords: investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , US
Korea`s next problem after FTA ratification: trade lawyers
| 26-Nov-2011
Korea’s Office of the Minister for Trade recently attempted to recruit lawyers specializing in international trade before the effectuation of the free trade agreement with the European Union.
keywords: investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Korea , US