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.

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.
Tert.am | 2-Jul-2025
Samvel Karapetyan, a prominent businessman and a founder of Tashir Group, one of the largest group of companies in Eastern Europe, together with his family, sent a notice of investment dispute to the state officials of the Republic of Armenia.
SOMO | 2-Jul-2025
How Shell and ExxonMobil use arbitration to offload the costs of closing the Netherlands’ largest gas field.
Le 360 | 2-Jul-2025
Le Comité ad hoc du Cirdi a décidé de prolonger le sursis à exécution de la sentence arbitrale condamnant le Maroc à verser une amende de 150 millions de dollars au profit du groupe suédois Corral Petroleum, actionnaire majoritaire de la Samir.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 1-Jul-2025
Key features include the exclusion of concessions for natural resources from its protection remit, the inclusion of sovereign wealth funds as "Investors" and a denial of benefits clause.
La Razon | 30-Jun-2025
El Centro Internacional para el Arreglo de Diferencias sobre Inversiones (Ciadi) da la razón al Estado frente a la reclamación de la alemana Portigon, bajo el Tratado de la Carta de la Energía
TNI | 25-Jun-2025
Pero Sí Existimos cuenta una poderosa historia de resistencia contra la explotación corporativa y el daño ambiental. Únete a nosotras para una proyección especial en línea, seguida de un debate en directo con el director, las comunidades afectadas y expertos.
Seneweb | 24-Jun-2025
l’État cherche à rééquilibrer ses partenariats économiques, notamment dans les secteurs extractifs et stratégiques, les limites juridiques imposées par les traités d’investissement deviennent de plus en plus visibles.