Civil society

UN special procedures mandate holders’ letter to UNCITRAL WG III on ISDS reform

By UN Human Rights experts (2019)

“We wish to express our overarching concerns that international investment agreements and their ISDS mechanism have often proved to be incompatible with international human rights law and the rule of law.”

Keynote address by George Kahale, III

By George Kahale III, Chairman, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (2018)

“Combined with the ISDS mechanism of international arbitration, investment treaties have been transformed into weapons of legal destruction.”

ISDS: The wild, wild west of international law and arbitration

By George Kahale III, Chairman, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (2018)

“It's better to recognize that the ISDS system was poorly designed and has been malfunctioning for 30 years, and that dismantling it and starting from scratch is the wiser course.”

Opinion on the establishment of an investment tribunal in TTIP - the proposal from the European Commission on 16.09.2015 and 11.12.2015

By Deutsche Richterbund (German Magistrates Association) (2016)

“The German Magistrates Association sees no need for the establishment of a special court for investors. The Member States are all constitutional states, which provide and guarantee access to justice in all areas where the state has jurisdiction to all law-seeking parties. It is for the Member States to ensure access to justice for all and to ensure feasible access for foreign investors, by providing the courts with the relevant resources. Hence, the establishment of an ICS