Topic: ISDS reform

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in the EU-Canada free trade agreement known as CETA – including provisions for an “investment court system” – is compatible with EU law.

30 April 2019

A Swedish court considering whether to annul a €53 million Energy Charter Treaty award against Spain has refused to seek a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice on the treaty’s applicability in intra-EU investment disputes.

26 April 2019

Following a public consultation, ICSID has published a second draft of its proposed amendments to the centre’s rules, including new provisions on third-party funding, arbitrator disqualifications and expedited proceedings.

18 March 2019

The International Bar Association’s subcommittee on investment treaty arbitration has released a long-awaited report proposing solutions aimed at improving its consistency, efficiency and transparency and weighing up the idea of replacing it with a permanent investment court.

03 December 2018

After a year identifying concerns about the investor state dispute settlement in its current form, UNCITRAL’s Working Group III has agreed to proceed to the reform of the system in what one commentator has called “a watershed moment.”

05 November 2018

The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes has unveiled proposals for what it calls the most far-reaching amendments to its rules in over 50 years – including new provisions on transparency, arbitrator disclosure, security for costs and third-party funding.

03 August 2018

UPDATED WITH LINKS. The Netherlands has published a new draft model bilateral investment treaty, which abandons the system of party-appointment of arbitrators and prohibits “double hatting” (acting as both counsel and arbitrator) in investment disputes, among other striking and possibly trail-blazing changes.

16 May 2018

UPDATED. At least seven current and 13 former ICJ judges have moonlighted as arbitrators in treaty-based investor state dispute settlement cases during their time on the bench according to a newly published study – threatening to undermine the court’s reputation “as the highest authority on public international law”.

27 November 2017

The latest round of renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement have come to an end with no real sign of progress, although the administration of US president Donald Trump has updated its objectives with regard to the reform of investor-state dispute settlement among other matters.

22 November 2017

In a follow-up to a report for UNCITRAL last year, Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler and Michele Potestà have once again considered the proposed reform of the investment dispute settlement system through the introduction of a multilateral investment court and appeal body – looking at questions surrounding their composition.

21 November 2017