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.

Reuters | 7-Nov-2018
Acacia threatened in October to use a bilateral investment treaty to force direct negotiations with Tanzania after Barrick failed to settle the row that has rumbled on for more than a year and a half.
EJIL: Talk! | 6-Nov-2018
The “moonlighting” debate echoes another controversial practice: that of “double hatting”, in which individuals wear two “hats” by simultaneously acting as arbitrators and legal counsel in international investment arbitration.
Curtis | 6-Nov-2018
Combined with the dispute settlement mechanism of international arbitration, investment treaties have been transformed intol "weapons of legal destruction."
Rosia Montana | 5-Nov-2018
Roşia Montană voices to be heard in illegal Romanian gold mine litigation
La República | 2-Nov-2018
El presidente de la República Martín Vizcarra aprobó una partida de S/ 108 394 504 soles a favor de la minera. El pago se debe a la cancelación del proyecto minero debido a las protestas conocidas como el Aimarazo.
Australian Financial Review | 2-Nov-2018
Businesses in the mining sector and beyond insist protection for Australian investors in Indonesia is required in a free trade deal.
PSI | 1-Nov-2018
Como representantes de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil global, reiteramos nuestra oposición inequívoca al régimen de solución de controversias inversionista-Estado (ISDS por sus siglas en inglés) y los derechos de gran alcance para los inversionistas extranjeros consagrados en los tratados de comercio e inversión.
SOMO | 30-Oct-2018
The UNCITRAL process runs a real risk of producing middle-ground solutions that will fail to address the fundamental flaws of the ISDS system and will only further institutionalise and re-legitimise the system.
Yogonet | 30-Oct-2018
El Tribunal de Arbitraje insta a ambas partes —Casinos Austria y el Estado argentino— a tomar "todas las medidas necesarias para el desistimiento de los procedimientos nacionales relacionados con la presente controversia".
Medias24 | 30-Oct-2018
Corral demande des dédommagements mais n’a pas encore précisé le montant.