investor-state disputes | ISDS


OIC member states move to modernize investment agreement
Held the first meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Agreement on Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments.
Time and compromise in UNCITRAL’s Working Group III
During the week of 22 September 2025, States once again met in Vienna under Working Group III of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to deliberate reforms to investor–State dispute settlement.
UK mining case highlights impact of ISDS mechanism on climate action
In August, a Singapore-based investor filed a case against the UK government after the High Court in London quashed a proposal for a new coal mine on climate grounds.
At a glance: investment treaty practice in China
Article 13.1 of Model IV provides that an investment dispute between an investor and a host state shall, as far as possible, be settled amicably through negotiations between the parties to the dispute, including conciliation procedures.
Powerful anti-climate legal instrument could cost the UK billions
In August 2025, for the second time in its history, the UK government was sued by a foreign investor under investor-state dispute settlement provisions, through the 1975 UK-Singapore bilateral investment treaty.
Portugal’s Galp takes step to start arbitration over Mozambique capital gains tax dispute
Galp says it has formally notified the State of Mozambique of a dispute under the international reciprocal promotion and protection of investments.
From trade deal to corporate takeover: threats of lawsuit abuse in RCEP
This episode unpacks the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, world’s largest free trade agreement, and the dangerous push to insert the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism into its investment chapter.
The corporate siege of Honduras: international arbitration demands, energy transition, and state sovereignty
Between July 14 and 17, in the city of Choluteca (Honduras), more than 60 people from 20 local communities and representatives of national and international social movements gathered for the “Meeting of communities affected by energy projects in southern Honduras - Without human rights, there is no energy sovereignty.”
The international investment legal regime, climate change, and human rights: an overview
Fossil fuel companies alone have launched over 300 ISDS cases, seeking over $80 billion in damages for climate-related policies aimed at phasing out oil, gas, and coal.