Investor-State Dispute Settlement
July 5, 2021: As expected, TC Energy has lodged an Investor-State Dispute Settlement claim against the US government, using the legacy provisions of the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), after the Biden-Harris administration cancelled the permit for the project on their first day, January 20, 2021.
June 21, 2021: Avima Iron Ore Limited, an Australian-owned mining company, launched a US$27 billion claim against the Republic of Congo (RoC) in the International Chamber of Commerce on June 4, 2021.
MEDIA RELEASE
June 15, 2021
“The announcement of ‘in-principle’ agreement for an Australia-UK free trade agreement continues the unacceptable government secrecy about the details of the agreement,” Dr Patricia Ranald, AFTINET Convenor said today.
June 2, 2021: AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald warns in the Guardian about the dangers of UK proposals to include ISDS in the FTA. UK companies are frequent users of ISDS with 90 recorded cases. Inclusion of ISDS would expose Australia to UK company cases for the first time.
MEDIA RELEASE, May 31, 2021
“The British Trade Minister has confirmed that corporate rights to sue governments are being discussed in the final negotiations for the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement before an announcement at the G7 meeting in the UK on June 11-13. This is unacceptable and will fuel community opposition to the deal in both Australia and the UK,“ Dr Patricia Ranald, Convenor of the Australian Fair Trade & Investment Network said today.
April 8, 2021: Pakistan’s Board of Investment has prepared a strategy to withdraw from all inhibiting clauses in the 53 Bilateral Investment Treaties the country has with 48 countries, including Australia.
The major concerns are provisions related to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). These shrink the policy space for the government to adopt measures in the public interest.
April 6, 2021: US-based global law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is advising US investors to prepare Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims against Mexico over its Power Industry Law and its proposed Hydrocarbons Reform Bill which enable Mexico to take action against climate change.
March 17, 2021: The February 2021 action by the German energy company RWE to sue the Netherlands government using the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty has provoked a Dutch institute to compare investor rights under Dutch and EU law with investor rights under the 1994 ECT and the recent Canada – Europe Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
March 1, 2021: The German electricity generation company RWE filed a request for arbitration against the Netherlands on January 20, 2021, at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, based on the Dutch government's decision to phase out coal for electricity generation by 2030.
February 15, 2021: After three rounds of re-negotiation of the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty in 2020, a leading policy writer at Colombia University, Martin Dietrich Brauch, argues that the European Union member states should withdraw collectively from the Treaty.