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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.

Honduran government repeals ZEDEs law amid warnings of free trade agreement rights and arbitration
2-May-2022 Peace Brigades International Canada
The ZEDEs are free from import and export taxes, but could set up their own internal forms of government, as well as courts, security forces, schools and even social security systems.
Business group blasts Mexico’s new lithium law as violating trade deal
28-Apr-2022 Reuters
A Mexican law that nationalizes its future lithium industry violates its trade obligations under the CPTPP, the International Chamber of Commerce said.
ISDS landscape in Latin America for 2022
21-Apr-2022 Kluwer Arbitration Blog
ISDS in Latin America is here to stay. While disputes in sectors such as pensions and telecoms are becoming more common in the region, we expect to see a ripening of COVID-related, tech and energy disputes.
T-MEC, an obstacle to lithium nationalization
21-Apr-2022 The Daily Guardian
State exclusivity in the lithium value chain can violate the treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).
Ousted Pakistani leader as challenging investment treaties that give corporations excessive power
15-Apr-2022 Inequality.org
Mexico and many other countries are facing anti-democratic corporate lawsuits like the case that pushed Khan to withdraw from international investment agreements.
AfCFTA protocol on investment draft (Nov 2021)
14-Apr-2022
Imran Khan’s Reko Diq Deal is malicious for Balochistan
12-Apr-2022 News Intervention
Several aspects of Reko Diq deal with Barrick Gold are still concealed and Balochistan is not aware of the details of the agreement, say civil society members and politicians from the region.
Climate change expert report warns that ISDS can block climate action
6-Apr-2022 AFTINET
For the first time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that climate action is being jeopardised by trade agreements which give global corporations the right to sue governments.
The conflict between traditional miners in Marmato and Canadian transnational mining companies: Another ISDS dispute over natural resources in Colombia
31-Mar-2022 IISD
In Marmato, the foreign investment promotion and protection system facilitated the transformation of the traditional small-scale mining regime into a transnational large-scale mining regime.
Calls to ditch ’ecocide treaty’ after failed reform efforts
24-Mar-2022 EU Observer
Environmentalists and energy experts have been warning for years over an obscure trade deal that could lock Europe into decades of fossil fuel use.
Pakistan evades $11b Reko Diq penalty
21-Mar-2022 The Express Tribune
In 2019, the ICSID tribunal had given an award over $6 billion against Pakistan to the TCC. At the same time, the London Court of Arbitration also imposed another $4 billion fine on Pakistan.
Zim/UAE deal now in force
7-Mar-2022 The Herald
The agreement between Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates on promotion and protection of investments has come into force.
AFTINET raises alarm on risk of UK companies suing the Australian Government through the CPTPP
7-Mar-2022 AFTINET
AFTINET has raised the alarm over the possibility that British corporations will gain the right to sue the Australian Government if the UK is granted membership in the CPTPP.
Riches for Australian miner equals misery for Thai villagers
4-Mar-2022 Michael West
The gold mine was closed by the Thai government, but an obscure clause in a “free trade” agreement has allowed the lucrative mine in Central Thailand to reopen.
Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) reform: Why it has failed to deliver on the EU’s own objectives
4-Mar-2022 Both Ends
From a climate perspective, the expected reform outcome is a failure. No Contracting Party will end investment protection for fossil fuels in a timeline that is necessary to align with the Paris Agreement.
Guatemalan water defenders celebrate 10 years of resistance
3-Mar-2022 Inequality.org
An attempted assassination, criminalization, and violent eviction in 2014 didn’t stop the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in Guatemala, which won legal action suspending harmful mining activities.
A sea of trouble: Seabed mining and international arbitration in Mexico
2-Mar-2022 Inequality.org
In the Gulf of Ulloa, a US treasure-hunting company turned seabed mining outfit poses a dire risk to the environment.
Corporate courts can be beaten. It’s essential for climate justice
2-Mar-2022 Global Justice Now
It is perfectly possible to withdraw from trade deals containing corporate courts, as former South African trade minister Rob Davies explains.
Briefers on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) vs Women’s Human Rights
1-Mar-2022 APWLD
APWLD is launching new Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) vs Women’s Human Rights briefers which elaborate on how ISDS is incompatible with human rights principles.
An energy investment treaty has been holding Nord Stream 2 hostage
28-Feb-2022 Climate Home News
The German government has been worried about being sued by the fossil fuel companies behind the Russian gas pipeline under the Energy Charter Treaty.