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.

No al TTIP | 8-Sep-2018
El cambio climático está destrozando millones de vidas y ecosistemas. Los Estados tienen que dejar de proteger los intereses corporativos y asegurar que los combustibles fósiles se queden bajo tierra.
Business Wire | 7-Sep-2018
Ecuador found liable for violating international law, supporting fraud and corruption.
Alternatives Economiques | 5-Sep-2018
Les montants des « sentences » se comptent en milliards de dollars au total, sans qu’un chiffre exhaustif puisse être donné, certains jugements et même certaines procédures restant secrets.
Le Monde | 5-Sep-2018
Les documents révélés permettent pour la première fois de mettre en évidence la pression exercée sur le législateur français par une entreprise étrangère à l’aide d’une menace d’arbitrage.
Reuters | 5-Sep-2018
A US arbitration court has rejected a German government petition that said the panel had no right to rule on a damages claim by Sweden’s Vattenfall. Berlin cited a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Financial Express | 5-Sep-2018
New Delhi won’t not take additional commitment on intellectual property rights beyond the TRIPS agreement it has already accepted at the WTO; investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism only for limited sectors.
IISD | 5-Sep-2018
The proposed instrument is of little benefit to states on either account and it is overly intrusive into government administrative processes.
Korea Herald | 4-Sep-2018
Lawyers claim investor-state dispute settlement should be abolished in FTA as in NAFTA.
Yonhap | 4-Sep-2018
La Corée du Sud a dévoilé les clauses révisées de son accord de libre-échange avec les Etats-Unis et recueillera des opinions publiques sur ce dernier avant de le soumettre à l’Assemblée nationale.