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.

LRT | 18-Jul-2025
Lithuania and French energy group Veolia have reached a €35 million settlement that ends most of their decade-long legal disputes over municipal heating contracts, the Lithuanian Energy Ministry announced .
Reuters | 18-Jul-2025
South Korea won its latest appeal in its dispute with US hedge fund Elliott over the 2015 merger of two affiliates of Samsung, shortly after the electronics group’s Chairman Jay Y. Lee was cleared by South Korea’s top court.
Kosova Press | 18-Jul-2025
The European Commission has referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union for refusing to comply with a key European Union ruling on investor-state arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty.
Kosova Press | 18-Jul-2025
La Commission européenne a saisi la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne à l’encontre de la Hongrie pour avoir refusé de se conformer à une décision clé de l’Union européenne sur l’arbitrage entre investisseurs et États en vertu du traité sur la Charte de l’énergie.
AFTINET | 18-Jul-2025
New Zealand has firmly opposed including Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which covers 15 Asia-Pacific countries.
Watson | 17-Jul-2025
Le feuilleton judiciaire autour du rachat de Credit Suisse occupera la Suisse pendant encore plusieurs années. Un cabinet d’avocats londonien compte attaquer la Confédération en justice – un dossier qui vient s’ajouter à la pile de plaintes déjà déposées contre la Suisse.
Blue Gold | 16-Jul-2025
Ghana terminated FGRBPL’s mining leases in 2024, prompting BGHL to challenge the decision under the UK-Ghana BIT via arbitration in 2025. If unsuccessful, BGHL risks losing its leases and mining plans. The outcome remains uncertain.
Linkedin | 16-Jul-2025
A Canadian company is threatening private arbitration under the Canada–Costa Rica investment treaty, claiming Costa Rica violated the treaty by halting a landfill project in Turrúcares, even as the proper domestic legal process is unfolding.