publish

  • Home
  • investor-state disputes | ISDS
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.

Manas Bank v. Kyrgyz Republic: Paris Appeals Court annuls $16.5 million award for Valeri Belokon
Akipress | 22-Feb-2017
The Paris Appeals Court annuled $16.5 million award for Latvian businessman Valeri Belokon and reinstated the evidence that Manas Bank employees were engaged in money laundering.
keywords: finance | banking | taxes , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia
U.S. company Windstream Energy sues Canada for $28-million in NAFTA case
The Globe and Mail | 22-Feb-2017
A New York-based energy company is asking the Ontario Superior Court to enforce a $28-million award against the Canadian and Ontario governments that it received under a NAFTA arbitration.
keywords: Canada , energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , NAFTA | USMCA , US
Govt asked to ignore Freeport’s lawsuit threat
Antara News | 22-Feb-2017
The Indonesian Institute for Global Justice has asked the government to consistently apply the state regulation number 4 of 2009 and ignore Freeports threat to bring its legal dispute with the government to the International Court of Arbitration.
keywords: Indonesia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , US
India should hold firm against the European efforts to undermine its new model Bilateral Investment Treaty
International Economic Law and Policy Blog | 22-Feb-2017
In the transition to its new approach to investor protection, India has sought to terminate its existing BITs with individual EU Members. Now the European Commission is pressuring India to extend those existing treaties.
keywords: EU , India , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , reformed ISDS
New report on investment arbitration
ISDS Blog | 22-Feb-2017
SCC is a preferred venue for investment arbitrations. Over the past 20 years, the SCC has administered and acted as appointing authority in more than 90 investment arbitrations, both in small-sized and in large-scale disputes.
keywords: ECT , investor-state disputes | ISDS
France : une centaine de députés saisissent le Conseil constitutionnel sur le Ceta
L’Orient Le Jour | 21-Feb-2017
Une centaine de députés de gauche ont décidé de saisir le Conseil constitutionnel à propos du Ceta qu’il jugent incompatible avec la Constitution française.
keywords: Canada , EU , France , investor-state disputes | ISDS
El Salvador: Organizaciones reclaman a Parlamentarios prohibir explotación minera y zafar de los Tratados de Libre Comercio
Radio Mundo Real | 21-Feb-2017
Más de 16 organizaciones ambientalistas y sociales que aglutinan el Movimiento de Victimas, Afectados y Afectadas por el Cambio Climático y Corporaciones (MOVIAC), entre ellas el grupo CESTA de Amigos de la Tierra El Salvador, entregaron una petición a los parlamentarios de dicho país centroamericano solicitando la creación de una norma que prohíba la explotación minera y los Tratados de Libre Comercio.
keywords: El Salvador , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining
Indonesia ready for Freeport tribunal
Jakarta Post | 20-Feb-2017
In its latest move to settle a dispute over mining policy, the government has challenged United States mining giant Freeport McMoran to go to an international arbitration tribunal for a fair result.
keywords: Indonesia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , US
Freeport warns of arbitration as Indonesia mining dispute escalates
Reuters | 20-Feb-2017
U.S. mining giant Freeport warned it could take the Indonesian government to arbitration and seek damages over a contractual dispute that has halted operations at the world’s second-biggest copper mine.
keywords: Indonesia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , US
Australia’s march towards corporatocracy
The Conversation | 20-Feb-2017
While consultancies, political donations, secondments and staff movements magnify corporate influence over government, an equally sinister trend is playing out in the world of multinational corporations.
keywords: Australia , corporate interests , CPTPP , finance | banking | taxes , investor-state disputes | ISDS