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.

Collectif Stop Tafta | 2-Oct-2019
19 organisations de la société civile ont appelé les États membres de l’UE à quitter le Traité de la Charte de l’énergie.
The Economic Times | 2-Oct-2019
India may cut or eliminate tariffs on 80% of products imported from China under a 16-country free trade agreement, the last round of negotiations for which is underway in Vietnam.
Yonhap | 1-Oct-2019
The South Korean government has won an international arbitration in a suit a Korean-American individual filed over expropriation of land in a redevelopment project.
AFTINET | 1-Oct-2019
Their submissions conclude that the system is detrimental to public budgets, regulations in the public interest, democracy and the rule of law.
TASS | 1-Oct-2019
The Russian side appealed that a number of provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty could not be applied to the Russian Federation because it did not ratify it.
AFTINET | 1-Oct-2019
After seven years of tireless campaigning in Australia and across the region, the Malaysian Trade Minister announced that foreign investor rights to sue governments (ISDS) has been dropped from the RCEP agreement negotiations.
América Latina Mejor Sin TLC | 30-Sep-2019
La petrolera Perenco Ecuador Limited recibirá 471,8 millones de dólares del Estado ecuatoriano en concepto de indemnización, amparada por el Tratado Bilateral de Inversiones suscrito con Francia. La multinacional, por su parte, solo deberá abonar 60 millones en concepto de daños ambientales y costas procesales.
Ciar Global | 28-Sep-2019
Junto a Latam Hydro, CH Mamacocha demanda a Perú ante CIADI en relación con la construcción de una central en un espacio protegido.
Business Recorder | 27-Sep-2019
Pakistan has paid over $100 million to Turkish rental power company Karkey as a penalty out of $800 million, Senator Sherry Rehman has said.
Forbes | 27-Sep-2019
The company building the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea today sued the European Union over new gas rules it says are threatening its investments in the project.