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.

El Economista | 7-Jul-2025
El grupo, representado por el bufete Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, solicita el pago de hasta 90 millones de euros en disputas sometidas ante el CIADI con resultado favorable.
NDTV | 7-Jul-2025
India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said.
bilaterals.org | 7-Jul-2025
Kelompok masyarakat sipil dari 15 negara anggota RCEP, menyerukan kepada pemerintah untuk tidak memasukkan ISDS dalam RCEP
bilaterals.org | 7-Jul-2025
Civil society organisations from the 15 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), call upon RCEP governments to continue to exclude Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) from the RCEP.
Libertad Digital | 6-Jul-2025
AES denunció una violación al Tratado Bilateral de Inversiones con Estados Unidos por la modificación unilateral de los ingresos en dólares y por el prolongado congelamiento tarifario.
Infobae | 6-Jul-2025
En noviembre de 2020, Lupaka presentó una demanda contra el Estado peruano, acusando al Gobierno de respaldar a la comunidad de Parán y violar el Acuerdo de Libre Comercio entre Canadá y Perú.
CR Hoy | 6-Jul-2025
La compañía alega violaciones a tratado de protección de inversiones suscrito entre Costa Rica y Canadá en pugna por desarrollo de rellenos sanitarios.
Sloboden Pecat | 4-Jul-2025
Croatia has lost the multi-year arbitration dispute that the French bank Societe Generale was leading against it before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington.
Sloboden Pecat | 4-Jul-2025
La Croatie a perdu le litige arbitral que la banque française Société Générale menait contre elle devant le Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements à Washington.
Mining Weekly | 3-Jul-2025
The dispute arose under the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Peru and concerned Lupaka’s investment in the Invicta gold project, located in the Andean highlands of Peru.