ISDS Case Map
sovereignty | democracy
The Chamber of Deputies approved the request that the Government has to review in detail each and every treaty signed by Chile, as well as future agreements.
These claims come at a significant cost to target countries and their citizens, since these claims will ultimately be paid by a large underrepresented class of stakeholders: the public.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving 16 nations from Asia-Pacific will impact the lives of over three billion people, yet a new study reveals how the deal fails international standards of transparency and public engagement.
With a global trade war looming and public faith in corporate globalization at an all-time low, secrecy in trade deals cannot be accepted. People have a right to know what is being negotiated in their name.
The high costs and potentially high damages characteristic of ISDS cases have made it a new and highly attractive market for third-party funding.
Globalisation is in crisis because of its almost totalitarian outreach to all areas of everyday life. People feel a loss of control, because their way of life is perceived as subject to trade requests solely for the benefit of globally acting firms.
The takeaway from the UNCITRAL's process for its so-called "reform" discussions is that lawyers making millions in ISDS cases are welcomed, while the voices of the millions of people whose lives are harmed by ISDS cases brought by multinational corporations are barely an afterthought.
Following calls for openness and public participation, the European Commission now advertises its trade negotiations as transparent and inclusive. But crucial information about EU trade deals are still kept from citizens. Even member state governments regularly complain about being left in the dark. At the same time, corporations continue to call the shots on EU trade talks.
Although advances have been made in some chapters, reports suggest that virtually the whole of the agreement's IP chapter remains up in the air.
Kahale uses examples from his own experience to argue that the ISDS system based on commercial arbitration principles is not fit to arbitrate cases in which international companies seek compensation from governments for changes in health, environment or other public interest laws.
