Asia

Asian countries have signed almost 2000 international investment agreements, most of which include the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism that gives foreign investors the right to bypass national courts and resort to a parallel system of justice specifically made for them.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations or ASEAN (formed of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) also provides investor protection under the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement which was adopted in 2009.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP or TPP for short) includes ISDS provisions with a carve-out for tobacco control measures.
TPP was signed on 7 March 2018 between 11 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It went into force on 30 December 2018 among the members who have ratified it. The US withdrew from it in January 2017.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed mega regional trade deal. It is currently being negotiated between the Asian states of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam with Australia and New Zealand. India pulled out of RCEP in December 2019.

RCEP originally included ISDS, but following opposition from civil society groups and some governments, negotiators agreed to exclude it in September 2019. However the negotiating states said they will look into it again at a later stage and assess whether or not to include it.

India has been the most targeted country in the region, with 25 known disputes - the majority of which were initiated by West European countries. Turkey has been the most frequent home state for investors, with 35 cases.

In July 2019, Pakistan was ordered to pay over US$5 billion to Chilean and Canadian investors (Antofagasta and Barrick) which had brought an ISDS claim against the country using the Australia-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty. The case involved a gold and copper mine, for which an exploration permit had been denied. The mining companies had only invested about US$200 million.

Several governments in the region have said they would reform the mechanism. At the end of 2014, Sri Lanka announced its intention to move away from traditional models of BIT. It cited the thin relationship between BITs and foreign direct investment, past ISDS disputes and the tendency for BITs to constrain domestic policy space as reasons. Sri Lanka favours the enactment of appropriate domestic legislation to protect foreign investment.

In early 2014, Indonesia announced that it would terminate 67 of its BITs. Former president Yudhoyono argued that he did not want multinational companies to pressure developing countries. 21 BITs were terminated in 2015. Indonesia has drafted a new model of BIT, but it hasn’t been adopted yet.

In December 2015, India released a revised model BIT which, for instance, requires investors to exhaust domestic remedies (Indian courts) before turning to international arbitration and leaves out “fair and equitable treatment” provisions. Consequently India sent notices to 58 countries terminating or not renewing BITs that had expired. In January 2020, it signed a BIT with Brazil that excludes ISDS and favours dispute prevention as well as state-to-state dispute settlement.

(April 2020)

The Express Tribune | 22-Sep-2017
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has not only imposed a hefty fine on Pakistan but also declared that the country will be paying $5.6 million as interest per month.
Daily Pakistan | 21-Sep-2017
Financially-strapped Pakistan has been imposed with a staggering $700 million in a damages suit by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) regarding rental power plants case.
Insider | 21-Sep-2017
The Edinburgh-based oil and gas explorer says both it and the Government of India have agreed a timetable for finalising document production, submissions and hearings.
No al TTIP | 18-Sep-2017
La Comisión Europea no quiere frenar su agenda liberal de apertura comercial mediante nuevos tratados comerciales. Oceanía es la próxima meta de Juncker.
The Wire | 12-Sep-2017
By restraining a foreign investor from pursuing a claim under a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), the Delhi high court is coming in way of India’s accountability being tested under international law.
Energy Infra Post | 12-Sep-2017
UK-based Cairn Energy Plc has increased its compensation claim by $249 million in the retrospective dispute case after the income tax department adjusted tax refund due to the oil explorer towards settlement of its tax liabilities.
Korea Herald | 11-Sep-2017
China has shown no hesitation in disregarding its obligations under the free trade agreement with South Korea to take retaliatory measures against the deployment of a US missile defense system in the peninsula, say Korean media
CNCD-11.11.11 | 10-Sep-2017
« La saisine permettra de clarifier la légalité de la clause d’arbitrage qui concerne non seulement le CETA, mais également le JEFTA avec le Japon et le VEFTA avec le Vietnam » explique Michel Cermak, chargé de recherche au CNCD-11.11.11
People over Profit | 7-Sep-2017
Philippine civil society groups and social movements stand together to oppose RCEP
African Law Business | 6-Sep-2017
The Singapore High Court has set aside an investor-state arbitral award on the merits against the Kingdom of Lesotho. The case is an important one, as it concerns whether investors can use arbitration to resolve cases that were pending before the SADC Tribunal when it was dissolved by the SADC Summit in 2014.