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A Parade Of Reforms: The European Commission's Latest Proposal For Isds, Gus Van Harten
A Parade Of Reforms: The European Commission's Latest Proposal For Isds, Gus Van Harten
Gus Van Harten
The European Commission's most recent proposal for ISDS reflects a move away from essentially fake reforms to something potentially more meaningful. However, it is insufficient to satisfy the criteria of independence, fairness, openness, subsidiarity, and balance and does not appear reliable until backed by clear language and a negotiating red line for the proposed Canada-Europe CETA and any other agreement providing for ISDS.
Arbitrator Behaviour In Asymmetrical Adjudication: An Empirical Study Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Gus Van Harten
Arbitrator Behaviour In Asymmetrical Adjudication: An Empirical Study Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Gus Van Harten
Gus Van Harten
The study examines arbitrator behaviour in the unique context of investment treaty arbitration. It employs the method of content analysis to test hypotheses of systemic bias in the resolution of jurisdictional issues in investment treaty law. Unlike earlier studies, the study examines trends in legal interpretation instead of case outcomes and finds statistically significant evidence that arbitrators favour: (1) the position of claimants over respondent states and (2) the position of claimants from major Western capital-exporting states over claimants from other states. There is a range of possible explanations for the results and further inferences are required to connect the …
The European Commission's Push To Consolidate And Expand Isds: An Assessment Of The Proposed Canada-Europe Ceta And Europe-Singapore Fta, Gus Van Harten
The European Commission's Push To Consolidate And Expand Isds: An Assessment Of The Proposed Canada-Europe Ceta And Europe-Singapore Fta, Gus Van Harten
Gus Van Harten
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the European Commission’s approach to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the proposed CETA with Canada and FTA with Singapore. The text on ISDS in both agreements is evaluated according to general criteria of independence, fairness, openness, and balance. The main conclusion reached is that there is no significant difference between the CETA and FTA when it comes to ISDS. With the qualified exception of the criterion of openness, both agreements fall well short of satisfying the criteria. As such, neither agreement offers a significant improvement on the U.S. model of ISDS and, …
Notes On The German Economy And Energy Ministry's Proposal For Reformed Investor-State Dispute Settlement (Isds), Gus Van Harten
Notes On The German Economy And Energy Ministry's Proposal For Reformed Investor-State Dispute Settlement (Isds), Gus Van Harten
Gus Van Harten
These notes provide a general reaction to a proposal by the German economy and energy ministry for ISDS in a treaty between Europe and the U.S. Overall, the proposal takes only a minority of the steps needed to make ISDS independent, fair, open, subsidiary, and balanced. I suggest that the appropriate approach remains to reject ISDS in new treaties (especially among Western developed countries). The proposal would be a good starting point for replacing ISDS in existing treaties with developing or transition countries – but that is clearly not its purpose.