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.

Total Croatia News | 20-Dec-2018
Many see the withdrawal of the lawsuit as a tactical move whereby MOL wants to additionally strengthen its position in ongoing arbitration proceedings it launched in Washington in 2013.
The Conversation | 19-Dec-2018
Westmoreland Coal is suing Canada because it did not receive a transition payment following Alberta’s coal phaseout plan. For the province, coal mining companies have no role to play in the energy transition.
Global Development and Environment Institute | 18-Dec-2018
While promising economic growth, large-scale land investment deals have caused increased inequality, widespread displacement of people, and destruction of natural resources.
The Guardian | 17-Dec-2018
Global corporations should not have special legal rights to undermine the policies of democratically elected governments.
The Wire | 17-Dec-2018
India may have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Deutsche Telekom over the manner in which it cancelled a satellite communications contract in 2011.
Radio Canada | 17-Dec-2018
Le 16 décembre 2008, la province de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador exproprie la papetière AbitibiBowater qui vient de fermer son usine dans sa zone de compétence.
CIAR Global | 14-Dec-2018
El conflicto está relacionado con la suspensión del proyecto de minería de oro Tambor, en San José del Golfo y San Pedro Ayampuc, y la reclamación estaría cifrada en 300 millones de dólares.
Argus | 14-Dec-2018
Former Canadian mining company Crystallex has resumed efforts to auction shares of Venezuelan-controlled US refiner Citgo and accused Caracas of breaching an earlier settlement to stave off the sale.
AP | 14-Dec-2018
Westwater Resources, an energy materials development company, announced the filing of a request for arbitration against the Republic of Turkey for the taking of its Temrezli and Şefaatli uranium projects in June 2018.