ISDS allows foreign investors to sue our Government

March 7, 2023: In November 2022, the Trade Minister confirmed Labor’s policy to exclude Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in new agreements and to review it in existing agreements. The policy was first adopted under the Gillard government in 2011 in response to community campaigning by AFTINET and others when the Philip Morris tobacco company sued the Australian government over our plain packaging law.

Thursday February 16, 2023: More than 100 academics have urged the UK government to leave the controversial 50-member Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which includes Investor-State Dispute settlement (ISDS), a secret court system that enables fossil fuel companies to sue governments for huge sums over policies that could affect future profits.

February 6, 2022:This revision of the ASEAN agreement (AANZFTA) was begun under the Morrison coalition government and Labor Trade Minister Farrell announced on November 14 that in-principle agreement has been reached on most issues. The text will not be released until after it is finalised. The RCEP and CPTPP texts are being used as models. The provisions on corporate rights to sue governments (Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS) arrangements are still being reviewed.

January 25, 2023: The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (AI-CECA) negotiations are due to begin in late January 2023 and are expected to finish by June. The interim agreement, which was negotiated by the previous government, mainly dealt with trade in goods and services, and movement of temporary workers. The comprehensive negotiations will deal with issues like labour rights, environmental standards, digital trade, intellectual property and government procurement.

January 23, 2023: On January 20, 251 organisations including AFTINET, from 29 countries, called on the Salvadoran government to drop spurious murder charges against five leading Water Defenders arrested on January 11, 2023. The five arrested are Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Antonio Pacheco, and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, from the Santa Marta community in the north of the country. They now face six months of pre-trial detention.

January 9, 2023: Just prior to Christmas, on the night of December 22, 2022, the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the instrument of ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP or TPP-11) was deposited in New Zealand.  

November 25, 2022: The Council of the European Union late on November 18 failed to reach an agreement on the reforms to the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), in a moment hailed as historic by environmental lawyers.

November 22, 2022: Enabling legislation for the Australia-UK FTA (AUKFTA) and the Interim Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AIECTA) was tabled in parliament on October 27 and was passed on November 22. The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) Report on the AUKFTA was tabled on November 17 and the Interim India JSCOT Report on November 18, leaving  little time for them to be considered by parliament. The government made statements urging the quick passage of the legislation. Both reports recommended in favour of the enabling legislation, but they reflected some of AFTINET’s concerns. See our JSCOT submissions here and here.

Our preference was for these issues to be addressed before the enabling legislation, but failing this we have asked the government to address these issues in the reviews of the AUKFTA which are scheduled in the next two years, and in the negotiations for a more comprehensive Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement with India which is due to be negotiated next year.

Sharm El-Sheikh, 16 November 2022 – More than 380 civil society organisations from over 60 countries across the world, including AFTINET, are calling on governments to put an end to a system of secretive tribunals which threaten global climate goals at the CCOP 27 Climate Change Conference.