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.

Amigos de la Tierra | 13-Apr-2016
Por medio de documentos publicados recientemente por el gobierno colombiano se develó la intención de tres empresas mineras de demandar al país por un monto que podría alcanzar los 16.500 millones de dólares.
Leaders | 13-Apr-2016
L’Accord de libre-échange complet et approfondi (ALECA) serait-il ce pacte qui nous obligerait dans quelques années à accepter plus de concession au profit de la machine européenne.
Politico | 13-Apr-2016
France has seized $700 million in Russian state assets at the initiative of former Yukos shareholders.
Soy 502 | 11-Apr-2016
El Centro Internacional de Arbitraje Relativo a las Inversiones (CIADI) falló a favor de Teco Guatemala Holdings (TGH) para que la República de Guatemala le page a esa empresa 21. 1 millones de dólares más intereses.
Sidney Morning Herald | 11-Apr-2016
US mining company Nucoil is using a free trade agreement to put pressure on the Australian government to pay compensation over cancelled licences.
TDM | 7-Apr-2016
This is the first detailed collection of reviews of CETA after its latest revisions, including the reworked Investment Chapter with an investment court replacing international arbitration.
TeleSUR | 6-Apr-2016
En Colombia más del 70 por ciento del aparato productivo se encuentra en manos de consorcios y empresas multinacionales por el Tratado de Libre Comercio de Colombia con multinacionales de EE.UU. y Canadá.
Financial Post | 6-Apr-2016
An arbitration tribunal has ordered the Venezuelan government to pay a whopping US$1.386 billion to Canadian miner Crystallex International Corp.
New Statesman | 5-Apr-2016
One element of TTIP has been largely ignored – the deal’s impact on developing countries.
Las 2 Orillas | 4-Apr-2016
Abandono estatal, pobreza, hambre, atraso científico y tecnológico, y un abultado déficit comercial han sido el resultado de los inconvenientes tratados de libre comercio.