Investor-State Dispute Settlement
April 29, 2019: An academic study by Jonathon Bonnitcha and Zoe Williams has systematically analysed Investor-state dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases in which foreign Investors have successfully argued that they should be compensated for new laws or policies resulting from changes of government or other democratic pressures.
April 24, 2019: The Guardian has reported that US energy company APR has failed in its attempt to use the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) to sue the Australian government for compensation because of an adverse court decision.
April 12, 2019: AFTINET has produced a handy summary with the latest evidence on ISDS, including history, tribunals, costs, recent cases, governments withdrawing and reviews by ISDS governing bodies.
April 11, 2019: “Detailed scrutiny of the text of the recent Indonesia trade deal has revealed that there are no provisions to cancel the old 1993 Indonesia-Australia bilateral investment agreement, which will remain in force along side the new agreement.
Monday April 8, 2019: The Transnational Institute has published a sharp critique of the UNCITRAL Working Group III process, which met last week but will be ongoing in 2019. UNCITRAL is one of two institutions which oversee ISDS tribunals.
Thursday April 4, 2019: A group of seven Special Rapporteurs in the United Nations system have told another UN body – the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) - that Investor-State Dispute Settlement in trade agreements need systemic reform, not only procedural improvements.
Tuesday April 2, 2019: Despite winning a political risk insurance payout of US$58.5 million from Zurich Insurance Australia, the Australian mining company Kingsgate Consolidated has decided it will also pursue compensation from the Thai government for the closure of its Chatree gold mine in 2016.
Wednesday March 27, 2019: Patricia Ranald's article in The Conversation analyses the real costs of the Philip Morris tobacco company's challenge to Australia's plain packaging laws.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019: “The Australia-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement and separate Investment Agreement signed today still give special rights to foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments for millions of dollars in international tribunals if they can argue that a change in law or policy would harm their investment, known as Investor-State
Monday March 25, 2019: The Australian reports that Federal Labor Trade Spokesperson Jason Clare has confirmed that Labor in government would seek to remove Investor-State Dispute Settlement clauses from the Peru and Indonesia FTAs, which the Morrison government has signed but not ratified.