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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.

Feds appealing NAFTA tribunal decision of Nova Scotia quarry project
20-Aug-2015 CBC
Canada is appealing a potentially expensive decision from a NAFTA tribunal, arguing the tribunal "exceeded its jurisdiction" when it upheld a claim from a New Jersey concrete company, Bilcon, that it was entitled to compensatory damages.
GE issues – The Trans-Pacific Partnership and our political will
20-Aug-2015 The Online Citizen
What TPP means for Singapore, politics and you.
TUC briefing on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
20-Aug-2015 TUC
TUC Congress believes that the primary purpose of TTIP is to extend corporate investor rights’ and thus adopted a position of ‘outright opposition’ to TTIP.
Government mulling strong model BIT to revise investment pacts
19-Aug-2015 The Economic Times
Indian government had decided to come out with a new framework after several multinational firms invoked bilateral investment protection agreements.
TTIP/TAFTA et ses investisseurs tout-puissants expliqués en moins de 4 minutes
19-Aug-2015 Campact.de
L’ISDS permet aux entreprises de traîner les gouvernements devant des tribunaux secrets privés. La facture incombera au contribuable européen.
FIPA license to treat Canadians
19-Aug-2015 The News Review
The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), ratified in 2014, is a license to be unfair to Canadians.
Why Argentina’s petition to vacate an wward in AWG Group Ltd v. Republic of Argentina matters for future arbitrations
18-Aug-2015 JD Supra
Argentina filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a petition to vacate an UNCITRAL arbitration award, which could have broader implications for determining partiality of arbitrators.
Canada-China trade pact puts our sovereignty at risk
15-Aug-2015 The Vancouver Sun
In his new book Gus Van Harten argues that FIPA shows that Canada can be too eager to compromise its economy, long-term, in the hope of a quick buck now.
As decision in Mesa v. Canada looms, investor and all three NAFTA parties weigh in on significance of Bilcon
15-Aug-2015 Investment Arbitration Reporter
Following Canada’s loss this March in a NAFTA dispute, Bilcon v. Canada, that decision has prompted a new round of submissions in a separate dispute, Mesa Power Group LLC v. Canada.
Reko Diq arbitration: Can there be a settlement?
13-Aug-2015
We have been hearing news of the Pakistan government’s efforts to reach a settlement with the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) in connection with the Reko Diq matter involving copper and gold reserves worth billions of dollars.
Opinion: crisis, emergency measures and failure of the ISDS system: the case of Argentina
12-Aug-2015 Inter Press Service
The dozens of cases that were initiated against Argentina as a result of the outburst of one of its worst economic and financial crises in late 2001 became an often-quoted sad illustration of many of these shortcomings of the ISDS system.
International investment agreements and Africa’s structural transformation: a perspective from South Africa
9-Aug-2015 South Centre
The brief describes the widening debate on the implications of international investment agreements for sustainable development and outlines the broad features of alternative policy approaches to foreign direct investment
Spain facing compensation bill of billions over renewables cuts
7-Aug-2015 El País
Spain has suffered its first setback in an international arbitration process over its cuts to renewable energy subsidies.
Canadian corporations abuse investment treaties, bully governments into environmental backtrack: study
6-Aug-2015 CCPA
Canadian investors have exploited a controversial mechanism in international investment treaties to challenge public interest regulations in 24 different countries
Austria hit with first ICSID claim
6-Aug-2015 Global Arbitration Review
The owner of a Vienna bank targeted by multiple fraud investigations has lodged what is thought to be the first-ever investment treaty claim against Austria
A losing proposition
5-Aug-2015 CCPA
The failure of Canadian ISDS policy at home and abroad.
Poland risks Bilateral Investment Treaty claims in adopting new law
5-Aug-2015 Lexology
The Polish Parliament has just passed a new law restricting investment in certain strategic Polish companies, which raises the risk of potential Bilateral Investment Treaty claims
TransCanada may recoup costs from US if Obama rejects Keystone
4-Aug-2015 Bloomberg
A provision in the North American Free Trade Agreement would let the Canadian company TransCanada Corp. recoup some of the $2.4 billion spent on its Keystone XL project
UK and France paid 24m euros in Calais migrants ISDS case
3-Aug-2015 War on Want
A spokesperson for the company Eurotunnel has revealed that the UK and French governments were required by a private arbitration tribunal to pay out nearly 24 million euros for failing to provide adequate security around the entrance to the Channel Tunnel between 1999 and 2002.
TPP: Australia considers ’modified’ ISDS clause
29-Jul-2015 Financial Review
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb says he won’t sign off on investor-state dispute settlement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership "until we’re satisfied that there’s a carve out for public policy on health and the environment,"