Europe

European Union (EU) member states have signed over 1300 investment treaties with third countries, in addition to some 200 between EU members. Non-EU European states are party to over 500 treaties. Most of these contain investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, which enable foreign corporations to take ISDS claims against states if they deem their profits or potential investment to be affected by new laws or changes in policy.

The EU has ratified four agreements with an ISDS mechanism: the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), to which 53 European and Central Asian countries are party, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, and agreements with Vietnam and Singapore. Only the ECT has been fully in force. The ISDS provisions in the three others will be implemented after all member states have ratified them.

These three deals also include a revised ISDS mechanism created by the European Commission, known as the investment court system. Many critics say that this new system is largely window-dressing and does not address the core of the problem behind investor-state dispute measures.

In 2015, the European Commission asked the EU member states to terminate their intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs), arguing they are incompatible with EU law, which was confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its “Achmea” decision.

As of April 2020, the number of intra-EU ISDS disputes amounted to 170, approximately 17% of all cases globally, 76 of which having been brought under the ECT.

Overall investors from European countries have initiated over 600 ISDS cases, half of which are against non-European states. European countries have been targeted in about 350 cases. Grouped together, investors from EU member states have launched the majority of total disputes (over 400).

Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine have been among the ten most frequent respondent states, while the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Italy and Switzerland have been among the ten most frequent home states of the investor.

The most well-known cases include:

Yukos (Isle of Man) vs. Russia: US$50 billion awarded in 2014 to majority shareholders of the oil and gas company (ECT invoked).

Eureko (Netherland) vs. Poland: case settled in 2005 for about €2 billion in favour of the investor, a large European insurance company (Netherland-Poland BIT invoked).

Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka (Czech Republic) vs. Slovak Republic: €553 million awarded in 2004 to the investor, one of the largest commercial banks in the Czech Republic (Czech Republic-Slovak Republic BIT invoked).

Photo: War on Want

(April 2020)

Conseil européen | 20-Mar-2018
Le Conseil a adopté les directives de négociation autorisant la Commission à négocier, au nom de l’UE, une convention instituant un tribunal multilatéral chargé du règlement des différends en matière d’investissements.
The Nation | 20-Mar-2018
Pakistan has been an observer to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) since 2005 and has subsequently indicated its intention to become a full member.
Kluwer Arbitration Blog | 19-Mar-2018
Now that the CJEU decided that investment treaty arbitration based on intra-EU BITs is not compatible with EU law, the focus of attention must shift towards the domestic courts of the Member States as the guardians of protecting the rights of European investors.
Ctxt | 19-Mar-2018
Una sentencia abre la vía al fin de los tratados bilaterales de inversión entre los Estados miembros pero no aclara si puede usarlos la Unión.
Le Vif | 19-Mar-2018
La Cour européenne de justice incarne souvent le pire du néolibéralisme européen. Cette orientation très pro-marché est inscrite dans de nombreux arrêts de la Cour.
Morocco World News | 19-Mar-2018
Al Amoudi recently filed a complaint against Morocco at the World-bank affiliated ICSID thus ending a series verbal threats the Saudi investor has been brandishing since 2015 against Moroccan investment authorities.
Lexology | 16-Mar-2018
The English High Court has set aside parts of an award concerning claims brought by Griffin against Poland; Poland has reserved the right to argue the compatibility of the BIT with EU law.
Telquel | 16-Mar-2018
Comme il menaçait de le faire depuis 2015, l’actionnaire majoritaire de la Samir, cheikh Al Amoudi a finalement eu recours à la procédure d’arbitrage de la Banque mondiale dans le litige qui l’oppose à l’État marocain.
Le Monde | 15-Mar-2018
Serait-ce le début de la fin pour les très controversés tribunaux d’arbitrage « ISDS », ces juridictions d’exception qui traitent les litiges entre les multinationales et les Etats ?
Live Mint | 14-Mar-2018
Under international arbitration proceedings the final hearing of Cairn’s claim under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty is scheduled for August 2018 in The Hague.